ENGLISH IN USE · UNIT 42
The Future Perfect
By 1987, I will have graduated from Oxford.
Step 1 · Imagine the future
Imagine that you are interviewing Boris Johnson in 1977. He is 13 years old and has just started at Eton. He has ambitious ideas about his future. What does he think he will have achieved by different dates?
These are imaginary predictions based on events that later happened in his life. They are not quotations from the young Boris.
Interviewer: What do you hope to achieve in the future?
Boris: I have big ambitions. By 1987, I will have graduated from Oxford. By 2001, I will have entered Parliament. And one day, perhaps, I will have become Prime Minister!
The form
will + have + past participle
By 1987, I will have graduated from Oxford.
Step 2 · The dates and ambitions
Use this table to ask the young Boris what he will have achieved by each date. The events are based on the later chronology of his life.
| By the year | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 1982 | Leave Eton |
| 1987 | Graduate from Oxford |
| 1989 | Become Brussels correspondent for The Daily Telegraph |
| 1999 | Become editor of The Spectator |
| 2001 | Enter Parliament |
| 2008 | Become Mayor of London |
| 2012 | Be re-elected Mayor of London |
| 2019 | Become Prime Minister |
Ask Boris
Example: What will you have done by 1982?
By 1982, I will have left Eton.
1. What will you have achieved by 1987?
2. What job will you have got by 1989?
3. What position will you have reached by 1999?
4. What will you have achieved by 2001?
5. What will you have become by 2008?
6. What will you have achieved by 2012?
7. What will you have become by 2019?
Step 3 · How the Future Perfect works
We use the Future Perfect to say that something will be completed before a particular time in the future.
| Subject | will | have | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | will | have | graduated |
| He | will | have | entered |
| They | will | have | finished |
Positive
By 1987, he will have graduated.
Negative
By 1987, he won't have graduated.
Question
Will he have graduated by 1987?
Short answers
Yes, he will. / No, he won't.
By and in
By 1987 means no later than that date: the graduation will be complete at or before that time. In 1987 identifies the year when the event happens.
He will graduate in 1987. (Future Simple: an event at a future time.)
He will have graduated by 1987. (Future Perfect: the event will be complete by a future deadline.)
Step 4 · Choose the correct form
Choose the correct answer. Feedback appears when you select an option.
1. By next June, I ______ my course.
2. By the time she is 30, she ______ from university.
3. ______ they have arrived by eight o'clock?
4. By Friday, we ______ the work.
5. By 2019, Boris ______ Prime Minister.
6. By the end of the year, how many books ______?
Step 5 · Complete the sentences
Use the verb in brackets. Write the complete Future Perfect form. Press Return or leave a field to check your answer.
1. By 2030, I __________ (finish) my studies.
2. By next summer, she __________ (save) enough money for a holiday.
3. By the time we arrive, the film __________ (start).
4. By Friday, they __________ (not / complete) the building work.
5. __________ you __________ (read) the report by tomorrow?
6. By the age of 40, he __________ (write) three books.
Step 6 · Read the biography
Read about the real events in Boris Johnson's life. Notice the dates and the Past Simple verbs.
From Eton to Downing Street
Boris Johnson was born in New York in 1964. He started at Eton College in 1977 and completed his schooling there in 1982. He then went to Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied Classics. He graduated in 1987.
After university, Johnson began working as a journalist. In 1989, he became the Brussels correspondent for The Daily Telegraph. In 1999, he became editor of The Spectator, a magazine about politics and current affairs.
In 2001, he was elected Member of Parliament for Henley. In 2008, he was elected Mayor of London. He won a second term in 2012.
In July 2019, he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He remained in office until September 2022.
Check your understanding
1. Where did Boris Johnson study after Eton?
2. When did he become Brussels correspondent?
3. When was he first elected Mayor of London?
4. When did he become Prime Minister?
Step 7 · Compare the future and the past
The Future Perfect looks forward from an earlier time. The Past Simple tells us what actually happened.
By 1987, I will have graduated from Oxford.
Looking back from today:
He graduated from Oxford in 1987.
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets. Use the Future Perfect in the first sentence of each pair and the Past Simple in the second.
1a. By 1987, he __________ (graduate) from Oxford.
1b. He __________ (graduate) from Oxford in 1987.
2a. By 2001, he __________ (enter) Parliament.
2b. He __________ (enter) Parliament in 2001.
3a. By 2008, he __________ (become) Mayor of London.
3b. He __________ (become) Mayor of London in 2008.
4a. By 2019, he __________ (become) Prime Minister.
4b. He __________ (become) Prime Minister in 2019.
Step 8 · Write about your future
Imagine your life five or ten years from now. Write about things you hope or expect to have completed by then. Use the Future Perfect at least four times.
Here are some ideas:
- finish a course or qualification
- learn a new language
- visit another country
- move house or change jobs
- write a book or complete a project