40 questions about using for and since with Future Perfect Continuous to express how long an action will have been going on by a specific future point.
Set:
Exercise 1. For or since: choose the correct time word
Choose 'for' or 'since' to complete each Future Perfect Continuous sentence. Remember: 'for' = duration period; 'since' = starting point.
Set:
1
By June, I will have been working here ___ 10 years.
2
By June, I will have been working here ___ 2014.
3
How long will they have been waiting ___ the time we arrive?
4
She will have been studying piano ___ she was seven years old.
5
By 2030, they ___ living in this city ___ over twenty years.
6
He won't have been sleeping ___ long. He only went to bed an hour ago.
7
By next spring, she will have been teaching at this school ___ September.
8
Will you have been playing in the team ___ three seasons by the final?
9
By next month, the construction crew will have been working on the bridge ___ early 2022.
10
They won't have been dating ___ very long when they get married.
for: duration period
Subjectwill have beenverb-ingfor[length of time]
By June, I will have been working here for 10 years.
She will have been studying for three hours by the time the exam starts.
They won't have been waiting for long when we arrive.
for + 10 years / for 3 hours / for ages / for a long time / for long
since: starting point
Subjectwill have beenverb-ingsince[point in time]
By June, I will have been working here since 2014.
She will have been teaching since she was 24 by retirement.
They will have been living there since March by the time they move.
since + 2014 / since 9am / since Monday / since she started
? How long will…?
How longwillsubjecthave beenverb-ingby [time]?
How long will you have been working here by next December?
How long will they have been building the stadium by the opening ceremony?
for vs since: key difference
for + period
since + point
for 10 years
since 2014
for 3 hours
since 9am
for ages
since last Monday
for a long time
since I started
for six months
since June
Common mistake: Do not say "since three years". It should be "for three years". 'Since' needs a specific point in time, not a duration.
Present Perfect Continuous vs Future Perfect Continuous
Tense
Form
Example
Present Perfect Continuous
have/has been + -ing
I have been working here for 3 years. (up to now)
Future Perfect Continuous
will have been + -ing
I will have been working here for 10 years by 2030. (up to future point)
Key signal phrases with FPC
Future reference point
by Juneby 2030by the time you arriveby next year
Duration (use for)
for 10 yearsfor three hoursfor agesfor a long time
Starting point (use since)
since 2014since 9amsince last Mondaysince I started