In this short video, understand the concept of future perfect tense and future perfect continuous tense for the GMAT sentence correction questions.
“Future Perfect” and “Future Perfect Continuous” Tenses on GMAT
"Future Perfect" and "Future Perfect Continuous" Tenses
Tense is a topic that you must prepare very carefully, to score well on the GMAT sentence correction. It is particularly important to pay close attention to the perfect tense forms. While the simple tense forms are far more common, on the GMAT, the perfect tense forms pose a unique challenge. The perfect tense is only used under certain peculiar circumstances, making it difficult to identify exactly where it has been applied appropriately and inappropriately. In this short article, we will cover the form and use of two perfect tense forms, future perfect and future perfect continuous.
Future Perfect Tense
We will begin by taking a look at the form of the future perfect tense. The future perfect tense is marked by the use of the helping verb "will have". The future perfect tense is not a very commonly used tense, on the GMAT as its usage is quite peculiar. This tense is used to denote an action that will be completed by a certain point in the future. Let us illustrate this concept through the following example.
Example 1 -
Lily will have completed her homework by 7 pm.
In this sentence, the verb "will have completed" denotes that a certain action, completing the homework, will have ended by 7 pm, from the perspective of a point, further in the future.
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Now we will cover the form and use of the future perfect continuous tense. This tense is marked by the use of the helping verb "will have been" and the "ing" verb form. The future perfect continuous tense is the least used, in GMAT sentence correction, out of the twelve tenses of the English language, as the circumstances that require its usage are most peculiar. This tense is used to denote actions that will be ongoing, at some point in the future. Let us illustrate this concept through the following example.
Example 2 -
By the time Mary graduates, Jack will have been learning to play the guitar.
In this sentence, the speaker speaks from the perspective of some point in the future, the time Mary graduates, to say that at that time there will be an ongoing event taking place, Jack learning to play guitar.
This article has deliberately been kept brief; for a more elaborate explanation, please refer to Experts' Global's Stage One Sentence Correction videos.
