Question

What is the purpose of the future perfect tense?

• A. It is used to explain an activity that will be completed by a certain time in the future.
• B. It is used to talk about an action that will already have started and will still be happening by a certain time in the future.
• C. It is used to express an action that will occur in the future.
• D. It is used to project ourselves forward in time and to look back.

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

It is used to explain an activity that will be completed by a certain time in the future.

The tense of a sentence denotes a time, whether it is the time now (present), time then (past) or the time to come (future). The verb of a sentence has most to do with the tense. The future perfect tense refers to an action that will be completed at a given point of time in the future, or the time to come. This is similar to the purpose mentioned in option A of the form 'shall have/will have + verb, hence it's correct. The statement in option B closely refers to the future continuous tense of the form shall/will be + verb, whereas the purpose for the perfect tense is required, hence option B is incorrect. The purpose stated in option C refers to the simple future tense of the form shall/will + verb, whereas we need to choose the purpose of the future perfect tense, hence option C is incorrect. The purpose in option D refers to the future perfect continuous tense of the form shall/will have been + verb. It refers to an action that takes place between now and after a certain point in the future. It does not serve the purpose of the future perfect tense, hence option D is incorrect.