Look at these examples to see how the future continuous and future perfect are used.
In three years' time, I'll be studying medicine.
In five years' time, I'll have finished studying medicine.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Future continuous
We can use the future continuous (will/won't be + -ing form) to talk about future actions that:
- will be in progress at a specific time in the future:
When you come out of school tomorrow, I'll be boarding a plane.
Try to call before 8 o'clock. After that, we'll be watching the match.
You can visit us during the first week of July. I won't be working then.
- we see as new, different or temporary:
Today we're taking the bus but next week we'll be taking the train.
He'll be staying with his parents for several months while his father is in recovery.
Will you be starting work earlier with your new job?
Future perfect
We use the future perfect simple (will/won't have + past participle) to talk about something that will be completed before a specific time in the future.
The guests are coming at 8 p.m. I'll have finished cooking by then.
On 9 October we'll have been married for 50 years.
Will you have gone to bed when I get back?
We can use phrases like by or by the time (meaning 'at some point before') and in or in a day's time / in two months' time / in five years' time etc. (meaning 'at the end of this period') to give the time period in which the action will be completed.
I won't have written all the reports by next week.
By the time we arrive, the kids will have gone to bed.
I'll have finished in an hour and then we can watch a film.
In three years' time, I'll have graduated from university.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi patph0510,
The continuous aspect can be used to convey a variety of meanings and these are often not clear without knowing the context. In this case, I expect the person who said this was thinking of their departure for the UK and was imagining it as something that would take some time. If they were flying, for example, they'd have to get to the airport, check in, go to their gate, board the plane, get settled, etc. At some point during that process, the clock would strike 7.00.
We often use the future continuous to speak about planned or arranged events in this way.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi ihsan_qwerty,
Both forms are possible here, but there is a difference in meaning.
If we say '...she's having dinner' then we are stating a fact which we know is true.
If we say '...she'll be having dinner' then we are speculating; we expect that this is true but we do not know for sure.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi andreus1999,
The first one is strange because when we use the future continuous, it's as if we're imagining the experience of having dinner at the restaurant or we're thinking about how the event happens, but then the second part of the sentence is talking about a plan. The second version of the sentence, which uses 'going to' to talk about a plan, makes more sense.
As for the second pair of sentences, both could be correct. It really depends on the situation you use them in and what you mean.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello bellataylor,
Both of these are possible.
The first (are you doing...) is a question about arrangements and things which are already decided.
The second (will you be doing...) is a general question which could refer to plans, intentions or just hopes.
The difference in this context is tiny. It is really only about the kind of answers the speaker expects, and you can use them interchangeably.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team