Future Perfect Tense

How to Form the Future Perfect
The structure — will have + past participle

The Future Perfect is formed with will have followed by the past participle of the main verb. The same form is used for all subjects — will have never changes. The contracted form 'll have is common in spoken English.

I / You / He / She / It / We / They + will have + past participle

I will have finished by noon.  ·  She will have left before you arrive.  ·  They will have completed the project by Friday.

Contracted: I'll have finished  ·  She'll have left  ·  They'll have completed
Forming the past participle

The past participle is the same form used in the Present Perfect and Past Perfect:

TypeRuleExamples
Regular verbsbase verb + -edfinish → finished  ·  arrive → arrived  ·  complete → completed
Irregular verbsmust be learned individuallygo → gone  ·  write → written  ·  eat → eaten  ·  leave → left
Negative sentences
Subject + will not have (won't have) + past participle

I won't have finished by five.  ·  She won't have arrived before the ceremony starts.  ·  They won't have completed the work in time.
Questions
Will + subject + have + past participle + ?
Wh- questions: What / When / Where / How / By when + will + subject + have + past participle?

Will you have finished by then?  ·  Will she have left before we arrive?  ·  By when will they have completed it?
The core idea — completed before a future point

The Future Perfect looks forward to a future moment and says: by that moment, this action will already be done. It is the future equivalent of the Past Perfect — just as the Past Perfect describes what was already complete before a past moment, the Future Perfect describes what will already be complete before a future moment.

Past Perfect: By the time she arrived, he had already left. (left before she arrived — past)
Future Perfect: By the time she arrives, he will have left. (will leave before she arrives — future)

Past Perfect: By 2010, they had built three schools. (completed before 2010)
Future Perfect: By 2030, they will have built ten more. (will complete before 2030)
Key signal words and phrases
by then by the time... by Friday / by noon before you arrive by the end of the week by 2030 already in three years' time for + period of time

Future Perfect Exercises

The Future Perfect is used in two main situations. Each exercise page below focuses on one use, with a full explanation and five exercise sets.

Level

A1
A2
B1
B1+
B2
C1

Quick tip

See by or by the time? Think Future Perfect. The action will be finished before that future moment. "By Friday, I will have sent the report."