In the world of English, grammar plays an important role. Without grammar, we cannot understand the basis of a sentence, phrase or its meaning.
Tense is one such category of grammar that tells us about the period that whether something is happening in past, present or future. Tenses tell us about the action when we speak related to time.
Two such tenses are used in ‘will have’ and ‘will have been’ are Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Tense.
Key Takeaways
- Will have is used to talk about a future event that will be completed by a particular time, while will have been used to describe the duration of an action up to a particular time.
- Will have is constructed with the auxiliary verb “will” and the past participle, while will have been constructed with the auxiliary verb “will have” and the present participle.
- For example, “I will have finished my assignment by tomorrow” uses “will have” to talk about completing the assignment, while “I will have been studying for five hours by 6 pm” uses “will have been” to describe the duration of studying.
Will Have vs Will Have Been
The difference between ‘will have’ and ‘will have been’ is the form which is used in it. Will have use past participle of the verb and will have been using present participle of the verb. Will have tells us about the action which is completed in the future but ‘will have been’ tells us about action which is unfinished but will be finished.
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‘Will have’ is the Future Perfect Tense. It consists of two things: first is the simple future tense i.e. ‘will have’ and the second is the past participle of the main verb.
For example, I+ will have+ past participle i.e. I will have finished.
‘Will Have Been’ is the Future Perfect Continuous Tense. It also consists of two main things: first is the future perfect i.e. ‘will have been’ and second is the present participle (base form + ing).
For example, I +will have been+ present participle i.e. I will have been playing.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Will Have | Will Have Been |
|---|---|---|
| Tense | Future Perfect Tense | Future Perfect Continuous Tense |
| Verb | Simple Future of the verb i.e. ‘to have’ | Future Perfect of the Verb i.e. ‘to be’ |
| Participle | Past Participle of the main verb | Present Participle of the main verb (base form + ing) |
| Function | It tells us about the action which is completed in the future. | It tells us about the action which is incomplete but will be completed in the future. |
| Example | By the time you cook food this, Aman will have left. | When Sujata finish this course, she will have been learning Spanish for twenty years. |
What is Will Have?
When we see ‘will have in a sentence we should know that it tells us about the future action. Action which will be completed when we will reach in future. At some point in future, it will be finished.
For example, Mary will have baked a cake. When we use future Perfect Tense it denotes the expression of time which tells us about the point of time.
For example, Mary will have baked a cake, before you arrive.
The Future Perfect Tense is formed by using the subject + ‘will have’ + past participle of the verb. Whether the subject is singular or plural it doesn’t change.
If the verb is regular then past participle is the same as simple past tense. Sometimes we can use Future Perfect Tense and Simple Future Tense by changing their place.
Like jump > jumped, dance> danced. Future Perfect Tense can be used in four types of sentences: Affirmative, Interrogative, Negative and Negative Interrogative.
Whenever we are using Future Perfect we have to mention a point of time we have to set a limit otherwise it is futile to use it. A point of time can be specific or unspecific but we have to mention some time in future.
What is Will Have Been?
Will have been having a future perfect continuous tense and its purpose is to take us to the future i.e. ahead in time and then from the future we have to look back in the past.
It tells us about a situation that is unfinished but will be finished in future. It is used to tells a time expression.
The action shows us that it may have started in past, present or future and will continue in future as well. It is expected that the event will continue in future.
It has a form of will+ have been+ present participle (base form+ ing). Future Perfect Continuous also has cause and effect.
For example, Tania will be tired when she gets home because she will have been jogging for over an hour.
We should be careful between future continuous and future perfect continuous otherwise the meaning of the sentence would be changed.
It cannot be used in the sentences or phrases such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc.
Main Differences Between Will Have and Will Have Been
- Will have is a Future Perfect Tense whereas will have been being a Future Perfect Continuous Tense.
- The verb used in ‘will have’ is Simple Future and the verb used in ‘will have been’ is Future Perfect and will have & will have been both have a subject + the form + participle.
- ‘Will have’ use the past participle of the main verb. ‘Will have been’ use the present participle of the main verb ( base form+ing).
- Future Perfect tense tells us about the action which is completed in the future. Future Perfect Continuous Tense tells us about the action which is incomplete but will be completed in the future.
- For example, I will have played in the park. I will have been playing in the park since evening.
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
