Future Perfect For Intermediate learners
What is the Future Perfect Tense?
The future perfect (Futur II) has two main functions in German. It can be used to talk about a completed action in future or making a guess or assumption about the future or past.
Usage
The future perfect tense is used to describe completed actions or assumptions. It can be listed as:
Completed actions in the future
Assumptions about the past
Assumptions about the future
Completed actions in the future
This usage feels like a sort of time travel. You need to imagine that you are in the future, and you are looking back at a certain action that is finished and completed at that time.
Bis morgen werde ich den Bericht geschrieben haben.
By tomorrow, I will have written the report.
Wenn du zurückkommst, werden wir schon gegessen haben.
When you return, we will have already eaten.
Assumptions about the past
Future perfect is mostly used in this specific sense. It is used when you want to guess or assume that something has happened.
Warum ist er nicht da? - Er wird den Bus verpasst haben.
Why isn't he here? - He must have missed the bus.
Sie wird gestern krank gewesen sein.
She must have been sick yesterday.
Assumptions about the future
This is less common in comparison to the other uses of future perfect. You can make a guess about a future action being completed.
Überlegen Sie mal! In einer Stunde wird er die Nachricht erhalten haben.
Just think! In an hour, he will have received the message.
Future Perfect Tense Construction Rules
Here is the formula for the future perfect tense:
werden + Past Participle + haben/sein
werden + Past Participle + haben/sein
Haben/sein won't be conjugated for this tense.
Conjugation of Werden
The table below shows the conjugation of "werden" in the present tense:
werden (to become) | |
|---|---|
ich | werde |
du | wirst |
er/sie/es | wird |
wir | werden |
ihr | werdet |
sie | werden |
Sie | werden |
The Past Participle
There are different ways to form the past participle depending on the verb type.
Regular verbs
Strong verbs
Irregular verbs: "sein" and "haben"
Regular verbs
These verbs are also known as weak verbs. In order to form the past participle, you should find the stem by removing the –en from the infinitive form. Next, add "ge-" to the beginning of the stem and add "-t" to the end of it
Formula: ge- + verb stem + -t
machen → stem: mach → ge-mach-t → gemacht
Bis morgen Abend werde ich die Arbeit gemacht haben.
By tomorrow evening, I will have done the work.
kaufen → stem: kauf → ge-kauf-t → gekauft
Bis nächsten Monat werde ich ein neues Auto gekauft haben.
By next month, I will have bought a new car.
lernen → stem: lern → ge-lern-t → gelernt
Er wird bis zum Ende des Kurses Deutsch gelernt haben.
He will have learned German by the end of the course.
Strong verbs
Rules for strong verbs are different from weak verbs. The vowel of the stem often changes in the process of becoming a participle. There are so many different patterns for these changes.
fliegen (to fly) → stem: flieg → flog → geflogen
Bis du anrufst, werde ich schon nach Berlin geflogen sein.
By the time you call, I will have already flown to Berlin.
bleiben (to stay) → stem: bleib → blieb → geblieben
Wenn du zurückkommst, werden wir schon zu Hause geblieben sein.
When you return, we will have already stayed home.
geschehen
The infinitive and past participle form of "geschehen" (to happen)" is the same.
Bis wir die Ursache kennen, wird hier schon viel geschehen sein.
By the time we know the cause, a lot will have already happened here.
Irregular verbs: "sein" and "haben"
sein (to be) → gewesen
Nächstes Jahr werde ich ein Jahr lang krank gewesen sein.
Next year, I will have been sick for a year.
haben (to have) → gehabt
Bis du ankommst, werden wir schon Besuch gehabt haben.
By the time you arrive, we will have already had visitors.
Verbs with a separable prefix
If the prefix of the verb is separable, then "ge" goes between the prefix and the main verb.
Weak verb: prefix + ge- + stem + -t
Strong verb: prefix + ge- + stem + -en
aufmachen (to open) → +ge → aufgemacht
Ich werde das Fenster schon aufgemacht haben, bevor es heiß wird.
I will have already opened the window before it gets hot.
einkaufen (to shop) → + ge → eingekauft
Sie werden vor dem Feiertag schon eingekauft haben.
They will have already gone shopping before the holiday.
ankommen (to arrive) → + ge → angekommen
Der Zug wird schon angekommen sein, wenn du zum Bahnhof fährst.
The train will have already arrived when you drive to the station.
Auxiliary verb: sein vs. haben
sein
This auxiliary verb is used with:
Verbs that express movement or a change of location
Verbs that express a change of condition
* Exceptional verbs that come with sein:
bleiben (to stay) - sein (to be)
haben
This auxiliary verb is more common than "sein" and is used with the majority of verbs. Here is the basic rule for it:
If you exclude the mentioned groups (Verbs that express movements or a change of condition), then "haben" is used as the auxiliary verb for the rest of the verbs.
Conjugation of sien and haben in the present tense:
sein | haben | |
|---|---|---|
ich | bin | habe |
du | bist | hast |
er/sie/es | ist | hat |
wir | sind | haben |
ihr | seid | habt |
sie | sind | haben |
Sie | sind | haben |
Sentence Structure
This section explains the word order rules in German sentences for the following:
Standard Statement
Yes/No Question
Negation
Standard Statement
In a standard statement, the auxiliary verb is in the second position and the past participle + haben/sein belongs to the end of the sentence.
Ich werde morgen ein neues Auto gekauft haben.
I will have bought a new car by tomorrow.
Morgen werde ich ein neues Auto gekauft haben.
Tomorrow, I will have bought a new car.
Yes/No Question
In yes/no questions, the conjugated form of werden belongs to the first position and the subject comes after that.
Wirst du bis nächsten Monat Deutsch gelernt haben?
Will you have learned German by next month?
Wird er das Buch bis morgen gelesen haben?
Will he have read the book by tomorrow?
Negation
You can use "nicht" to negate verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and nouns that have a definite article (der, die, das). Where you place "nicht" depends on what you want to negate.
In order to negate the future tense with "nicht", you need to put it before the infinitive.
Ich werde das Buch nicht gelesen haben.
I will not have read the book.
Ich werde Deutsch nicht gelernt haben.
I will not have learned German.
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