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Passive Voice in Future Perfect Simple

The passive voice in future perfect simple is an advanced grammatical structure that describes actions that will have been completed by a specific point in the future, whilst focusing on what will have been done rather than who will have done it. Formed with will + have + been + past participle, this construction emphasises the completion of future actions in relation to future reference points, making it essential for future planning, project management, and sophisticated temporal relationships.

What makes future perfect passive particularly valuable is its ability to project completed accomplishments and finished states into future scenarios without necessarily emphasising who will be responsible for achieving them. This makes it crucial in strategic planning, milestone projections, formal reporting, and professional contexts where you need to describe future achievements and completed objectives whilst maintaining an impersonal, objective focus.

The future perfect passive also provides sophisticated language for making predictions about future completion, discussing anticipated achievements, and establishing future deadlines and milestones. This approach allows for precise future planning and professional communication whilst maintaining diplomatic distance from individual responsibility and focusing on outcomes rather than agents.

Mastering future perfect passive voice will enhance your English to an advanced level, enabling you to create sophisticated future projections, write detailed strategic plans, handle complex temporal relationships in planning documents, and demonstrate mastery of completion aspects in professional and academic communication with precision and formal sophistication.

Formation

Structure

Subject + will + have been + past participle + (by + agent)

Shows that the subject will have received the action by a specific future time or event

Active to Passive Examples:

Active:

They will have completed the project by Friday.

Passive:

The project will have been completed by Friday.

Active:

The team will have finished the report by then.

Passive:

The report will have been finished by then.

All Forms:

  • I will have been promoted by next year.
  • You will have been informed by tomorrow.
  • The work will have been done by 5pm.
  • We will have been contacted by Friday.
  • They will have been trained by then.

Negative and Question Forms

Positive:

  • The house will have been built by 2026.
  • The documents will have been signed.
  • The decision will have been made.

Negative:

  • The house will not have been built by then.
  • The documents won't have been signed yet.
  • The decision won't have been made.

Questions:

  • Will the house have been built by 2026?
  • Will the documents have been signed?
  • When will the decision have been made?

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ "The project will been completed by Friday."

✅ "The project will have been completed by Friday."

Don't forget 'have' between 'will' and 'been'

❌ "The work will have complete by then."

✅ "The work will have been completed by then."

Future perfect passive needs 'have been', not just 'have'

❌ "Will the documents have sign by noon?"

✅ "Will the documents have been signed by noon?"

Questions need 'been' after 'have' and past participle

❌ "The task will have been finish from the team."

✅ "The task will have been finished by the team."

Always use 'by' to introduce the agent (doer)

Active vs Passive: When to Choose

Use Active Voice When:

  • The future achiever is important to mention
  • You want direct, accountable communication
  • Writing personal future plans or goals
  • The subject completing action is significant

Example: "The team will have completed the project" (focuses on the team)

Use Passive Voice When:

  • The future completion is more important
  • Creating formal, objective future projections
  • The achiever is unknown or irrelevant
  • Planning documents and milestone tracking

Example: "The project will have been completed" (focuses on the completion)

Common Time Expressions with Future Perfect Passive

By/Before/After:

  • The work will have been finished by Friday
  • The system will have been updated by next week
  • The project will have been completed before the deadline
  • The decision will have been made by the time you return

Within/Until/Soon:

  • The report will have been submitted within the week
  • The building will have been completed within six months
  • The training will have been finished by the end of the month
  • The installation will have been done soon

Future Perfect Passive vs Future Simple Passive

Future Perfect Passive:

Use when something will be completed by a specific future time

  • The house will have been built by 2026
  • The decision will have been made by tomorrow
  • The work will have been done by 5pm

Future Simple Passive:

Use for general future actions without specific completion timing

  • The house will be built next year
  • The decision will be made tomorrow
  • The work will be done later

Key Past Participles for Future Perfect Passive

Regular Verbs:

  • complete → completed
  • finish → finished
  • achieve → achieved
  • implement → implemented

Common Irregular:

  • build → built
  • make → made
  • do → done
  • write → written

Planning Context:

  • submit → submitted
  • approve → approved
  • deliver → delivered
  • fulfil → fulfilled

Quick Reference Guide

Remember:

  • Formation: will + have + been + past participle
  • Focus: Future completion by specific times
  • Tone: Formal, sophisticated, excellent for planning
  • Agent: Can be omitted or mentioned with 'by'
  • Questions: Move 'will' before subject
  • Negatives: Add 'not' after 'will' (will not have been / won't have been)
  • Time words: by, before, within, by the time, by then
  • Usage: Perfect for deadlines, milestones, and completion projections

Practice Exercises


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Downloadable PDF


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Passive Voice Future Perfect Simple | English Grammar Guide