Future perfect continuous use

We've already talked about how to form the future perfect continuous (subject + will + have + been +

verb+ing). Now, let's talk about how to use it. Its most common use is to say 'how long' up to a point

in the future. We use it with 'for + a time period'.

This is very similar to the way we use the past perfect continuous up to a point in the past and the

present perfect continuous up to the present.

Let's imagine that you have been at your job for 51 weeks and three days. Someone asks you 'how

long have you been working here?'. You don't want to explain that it's 51 weeks and three days,

because that's too complicated to say. Instead, you say 'on Friday, I will have been working here for

one year'.

Here are some more examples.

• Next month, I will have been living here for eight years.

• At two o'clock, she will have been sleeping for twelve hours.

• On January the 2nd, people will have been using this building for six months.
Let's review. Make sentences using the future perfect continuous.

1. for / at 5 pm / it / three days exactly / will have been raining

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2. I / next week / in London / for / will have been living / fifteen years

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3. for / will have been travelling / she / on the 5th of July / three months

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4. for / will have been standing / 300 years / in 2025 / the building

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5. on his birthday / for / he / the violin / forty years / will have been playing

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6. three hours / at 4 pm / I / for / will have been waiting

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7. for / the children / one month / on Friday / will have been studying / French

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8. will have been working / at 11 am / for / James / 24 hours

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9. she / in March / for / will have been practising / yoga / ten years

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10. will have been writing / for / I / this essay / three weeks / tomorrow

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Answers

1. At 5 pm, it will have been raining for three days exactly.

2. Next week, I will have been living in London for fifteen years.

3. On the 5th of July, she will have been travelling for three months.

4. In 2025, the building will have been standing for 300 years.

5. On his birthday, he will have been playing the violin for forty years.

6. At 4 pm, I will have been waiting for three hours.

7. On Friday, the children will have been studying French for one month.

8. At 11 am, James will have been working for 24 hours.

9. In March, she will have been practising yoga for ten years.

10. Tomorrow, I will have been writing this essay for three weeks.