Ch 30 · Lesson 15Spanish · Chapter 30 · Lesson 15 · Grammar primer
The future perfect: habré terminado
: what will be done by a point to come, and the same form as a guess, a .
The short version
: done before a point to come
.
Why?Hide
The future perfect is the future of plus a participle: , , , , , . It places an action before a point in the future, usually named with (by), (within) or .
is often a guess, not a future
.
Why?Hide
The future perfect places an action before a future point: . In speech it is just as often a guess about the recent past: a means he/she must have arrived by now, not will arrive. Let the context decide, not the form.
The future perfect: will have done
The future of plus a participle places an action before a point in the future: English "will have done".
now: still working
habré terminado: the job is done
el viernes: the deadline
Timeline from now to future, with now marked.
| Person | Future perfect |
|---|---|
| yo | |
| |
| , , | |
| |
| |
| , | |
The stem is the irregular habr- of the simple future, and every form but carries an accent. A deadline word usually comes with it: (by), (within), :
| Deadline | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
. | By Friday I'll have finished the report. | |
. | By ten I'll already have left home. | |
. | In a year they'll have built the bridge. | |
, . | When you arrive, we'll have had dinner. |
After the future event itself goes into the subjunctive (); the future perfect stays in the main clause.
Real future or a guess?
The same form also guesses about something that has probably just happened, as on the future of probability. English says "must have":
| Read as | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| real future | . | By Monday he/she will have arrived. |
| a guess | . | He/She must have arrived by now. |
| a guess | ; . | He/She isn't answering; must have fallen asleep. |
| a guess | ; . | I can't see him; he must have left. |
A future deadline ( ) makes it a real future. A (by now), or a shrug about something you cannot see, makes it a guess. The guess sits between knowing and wondering:
- Ya ha llegado.he/she has arrived
- Ya habrá llegado.he/she must have arrived
- ¿Habrá llegado ya?I wonder if he/she has arrived
Going further: Compound tenses at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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