1. Review: the future perfect continuous tense
The future perfect continuous tense is used for:
- saying how long an event will have been happening at a future time.
- giving a reason for a state in the future.
The future perfect continuous tense is made by:
- subject + will have been …ing
- subject + (be) going to have been …ing
* subject + (be) going to have been …ing is very rarely used.
If the future continuous tense explains how long an action will have been happening at a future time, the structure is:
- subject + future continuous tense + duration + future time
| Subject | Future continuous tense (will have been …ing) | Duration | Future time | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | will have been working | for 43 years | by the time I retire | I will have been working at this company for 43 years by the time I retire. |
| the teams | will have been playing | for 20 minutes | by the time we get there | The teams will have been playing for 20 minutes by the time we get there. |
If the future continuous tense explains why a state will happen at a future time, the structure is:
- subject + future state + future time + because + subject + future continuous tense
| Subject | Future state | Future time | Because | Subject | Future continuous tense (will have been …ing) | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| she | will be tired | when I see her | because | she | will have been looking after the kids | I think she will tired when I see her because she will have been looking after the kids all day. |
| Mr. Michaels | will be happy | when he gets home | because | he | will have been listening to his new music | Mr Michaels will be happy when he gets home tonight because he will have been listening to his new music on the train. |
2. What is the passive voice?
The passive voice changes ‘x did something to y’ into ‘y has something done to it (by x)’.
It is made by:
- object + be + perfect participle (+ by subject)
*Perfect participle (p.p.) = gone, done, seen, eaten etc.
‘Be’ changes depending on the tense you want to use (present, past, future, perfect, etc.).
3. The future perfect continuous tense (passive voice)
The future perfect continuous (passive) uses the structures:
- object + will + have been being + perfect participle (p.p.) (by subject)
- object + (be) going to + have been being + p.p. (by subject)
* Using ‘will’ is more common than ‘(be) going to’.
| Object | Will | Have been being | P.p. | (By subject) | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the mural | will | have been being | painted | At 4pm the mural will have been being painted for 5 hours and should look magnificant. | |
| the forest | will | have been being | cut down | by gold mining companies | We need environmental laws: next month will mark the 5th year that the forest will have been being cut down by gold mining companies. |
| the book | will | have been being | read | by students in this district | This year will be the 25th year that the book will have been being read by students in this district. |
| Come the end of November, the factory will have been being managed by Mr Jones for exactly one year. | The crowd are already unhappy. By the time the final whistle goes, the team will have been being booed for over an hour. |
| Next week celebrates the fifth year that children will have been being trained here. | I will probably look rather tired when I see you because I will have been being shouted at by my boss for 5 hours straight. |
| The soup will have been being stirred for an hour by the time it is ready to serve. | The two countries expect the trade deal to be signed next week, by which time companies will have been being taxed 25% extra for six months. |
4. Converting a future perfect continuous tense into its passive voice
To change a future continuous tense into its passive form:
1. swap the subject and object
2. change ‘will have been …ing’ into ‘will have been being + p.p.’
or change ‘(be) going to have been …ing’ into ‘(be) going to have been being + p.p.’
| Future perfect continuous | Future perfect continuous (passive) |
|---|---|
| By the end of the year, this school will have been teaching classes for 20 years. | By the end of this year, classes will have been being taught by this school for 20 years. |
| By the end of the year the class will have been reading this book for 6 months | By the end of the year this book will have been being read by the class for 6 months. |
| They will have been painting houses in this town for 5 years by the end of this year | Houses will have been being painted by them in this town for 5 years by the end of this year. |
| This time next week the team will have been working on the project for ten years. | This time next week the project will have been being worked on by the team for ten years. |
5. Avoiding the future perfect continuous (passive)
The passive voice of the future perfect continuous tense is one of the longest tense forms in English. It is seldom used. This is because:
- it is awkward to say and write
- other tenses can do similar jobs
Other tenses that can do similar jobs
– If you want to say something will be true, use the future perfect (passive).
– If you want to emphasise the action (…ing), don’t use a passive voice.
| Future perfect continuous (passive) | Future perfect (passive) | Future perfect continuous (active) |
|---|---|---|
| The soup will have been being stirred for an hour by the time it is ready to serve. | The soup will have been stirred for an hour by the time it is ready to serve. | The chef will have been stirring the soup for an hour by the time it is ready to serve. |
| The house will have been being painted for three days when the owners come back. | The house will have been painted for three days when the owners come back. | The painters will have been painting the house for three days when the owners come back. |
| The gym will have been being investigated for fraud for three months by the time the owner goes on trial for assault. | The gym will have been investigated for fraud for three months by the time the owner goes on trial for assault. | Police will have been investigating the gym for fraud for three months by the time the owner goes on trial for assault. |
6. Test yourself
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