Future perfect in English: formation, meaning, and examples

30 January 2026

English-learners

Oleksandra Kulish

Book expert

In this article, we will look at the Future Perfect tense in English — its usage rules and differences from other tenses. We will also provide practical exercises to help you consolidate the material. This knowledge will help you express completed actions in the future more accurately and effectively, formulate plans and predictions correctly, and understand when the Future Perfect is used.

What is the Future Perfect?

The Future Perfect tense is used to describe actions that will be completed by a specific point in the future. Knowing how to build sentences in the Future Perfect will allow you to easily express plans and expectations, make predictions about events, and emphasize the completion of actions in the future.

The Future Perfect is formed using the following grammatical structure:

will + have + V3 (the third form of the verb)

It is often used with the word by (by a certain point in time). Examples:

Will you have finished your homework by 8 p.m.?
By next Monday, I will have completed the report.

The Future Perfect helps emphasize the result of an action rather than the process itself. In other words, the important thing is the fact that the action will be completed by a certain moment in the future.

Future Perfect: rules

To understand how the Future Perfect is formed, you should remember its grammatical formula:

Subject + will/shall + have + regular verb (-ed) or irregular verb in the third form (V3).

She will have graduated from university by next summer.

In formal English, shall is used with the personal pronouns I and we:

I shall have finished my report by tomorrow.

With other pronouns, will is usually used:

He will have passed all exams by next month.

In spoken English, shall is rarely used, so will is commonly applied to all persons: I, you, he/she/it, we, they.

Affirmative sentences in the Future Perfect

To form an affirmative sentence, simply follow the formula:

I will have completed my tasks by 6 PM.
We shall have prepared all documents before the meeting.

This structure clearly shows that the action will be completed by a specific moment in the future.

Negative sentences in the Future Perfect

To form negative sentences, use will not (won’t) or shall not (shan’t):

Subject + will/shall + not + have + verb (V3).

I will not have finished reading the book by tonight.
We shall not have sent all invitations before Friday.

This structure clearly expresses that the action will not happen or will not be completed by the specified time in the future.

Interrogative sentences in the Future Perfect

To form a question, place the auxiliary verb before the subject:

Will/shall + subject + have + verb (V3) + ?

Will she have completed the report by 4 PM?
Shall we have organized the meeting before the deadline?

Wh-questions in the Future Perfect

To form wh-questions in the Future Perfect, we use the same formula with one difference: a question word or phrase comes first — who, what, where, when, why.

Who will have submitted the report by 6 PM?
What will she have prepared before the meeting?

Future Perfect signal words

by — by a certain point in time
by 9 PM
by next Monday
by the time
before
until / till
by the end of
by the age of
when
by next month/year
by that time

Common mistakes when using the Future Perfect

No specific time of completion is specified.
❌ I will have finished my homework.
✅ I will have finished my homework by 8 PM.
Incorrect time markers.
❌ She will have left tomorrow.
✅ She will have left by tomorrow morning.
Error with verb form.
❌ I will have finish the project.
✅ I will have finished the project.
Future Perfect instead of Future Continuous.
❌ I will have watching TV at 7 PM.
✅ I will be watching TV at 7 PM.
Incorrect negation.
❌ I will have not completed the test.
✅ I will not have completed the test.

Comparing Future Perfect with other tenses

Sometimes it is difficult to understand the difference between English tenses that seem similar at first glance. Therefore, let's compare Future Perfect with two other forms of the future tense: Future Simple and Future Continuous.

Time / Tense	When to use / When to use	Example / Example
Future Simple — simple future tense	Used for future facts or actions that will happen	Alex will call his friend tomorrow.
Future Continuous — future continuous tense	Used for unfinished actions in the future that will continue	Alex will be calling his friend at 5 PM tomorrow.
Future Perfect — future perfect tense	Used for actions that will be completed by a certain point in the future	Alex will have called his friend by 6 PM tomorrow.

Conclusion

The Future Perfect is used when we talk about actions that will be completed by a specific moment in the future. Although it is used less frequently than other tenses, it is essential for emphasizing the result of an action rather than the process itself.