Future perfect
Future perfect — will have + past participle — for something completed before a point in the future.
A — Sample sentences
Words like wedding, bride, ceremony, reception, funeral, mourner, and anniversary.
1) Future perfect — will have + past participle
Completed before a future time — often with by, by then, before.
- By next June, they will have been married for ten years.
- The bride will have chosen her dress before the ceremony starts.
- All the guests will have arrived by the time the reception begins.
- She will have sent every invitation before Friday.
2) Future perfect continuous — will have been + verb-ing
Duration up to a future point.
- By their anniversary, they will have been living together for five years.
- The mourners will have been waiting outside the church for an hour by noon.
- He will have been planning the wedding for months before the big day.
- They will have been celebrating all evening by the time the guests leave.
3) With time clauses
Present simple in the time clause; future perfect in the main clause.
- When the ceremony ends, the couple will have exchanged their rings.
- Before the funeral starts, the family will have greeted every mourner.
- By the time the honeymoon begins, they will have taken hundreds of photos.
- After the guests have eaten, the best man will have given his speech.
The rest of this lesson is in the General English course:
- B — Quick reference
Try it: Future perfect or future simple?
Choose the best form.
- By Saturday, the groom ___ all the final preparations.
(a) will finish (b) will have finished (c) finishes - They ___ their silver anniversary by next spring.
(a) will celebrate (b) will have celebrated (c) celebrate - The guests ___ by the time the bride walks in.
(a) will arrive (b) will have arrived (c) arrive - She ___ every invitation before the end of the week.
(a) will send (b) will have sent (c) sends
Check your answers in the course — it marks them instantly. This is one of the unit's 4 exercises; the other 3 are in the General English course too.
Practise this unit in the course →