The future perfect

Hey guys, Dan for BBC Learning English here.

In this session we’re going to be talking about the future perfect . My favourite tense of all the tenses in English, just because of the way it sounds. Listen to it: The future perfect, it gives me goosebumps, it’s exciting.

And of course, all this will have been done in 90 seconds. Are you ready? Here we go.

So, I, like most people, have dreams and I, like most people, am getting older and I’m thinking to myself - when can I complete these dreams? How can I tick these off my list?

Well, I’m starting think about my 40th birthday, which will be in this year. I was thinking to myself - by my 40th birthday I will have walked across the Antarctic. That would be nice. By my 45th birthday I will have learned to play the piano and of course, before I die I will have travelled to the moon, which is like my lifelong dream.

Now did you hear the grammar that I used? - I will have travelled to the moon. This is called the future perfect . We use it to talk about an action which will be repeated before a future time. The formula is will plus have plus the past participle .

This can be made negative or into a question and is often combined with the preposition ‘ by ‘. So: by the time I’m 40; by the time I get home; by the time I next see you. Other examples could be:

“John, will you have finished that report by four o’clock?” “Sorry boss, I won’t have finished it by 4 o’clock but I will have finished it by the next day. Is that OK?”

Got it guys? Good, alright. So, I’ve been Dan, you’ve been fantastic. Just imagine, what will you have learned by next year?

Woah, great timing! The future’s out there guys, you’ve just got to find it.