Picture yourself on the Frecciarossa, Italy’s fastest train, somewhere between Milan and Rome. In two hours you’ll be gazing out at the Tuscan hills — or perhaps, by the time you reach Roma Termini, you’ll have crossed 600 kilometres in under three hours. One of those sentences describes what will be happening at a moment in the future. The other describes what will be completed by that moment. That contrast is exactly what the future perfect and the future continuous capture — and once you feel the difference in your hands, they become two of the most useful tools in your B2 grammar kit.
What Are They For?
You already know will for predictions and going to for plans. Both the future perfect and the future continuous do something more specific: they ask you to imagine a viewpoint in the future and then describe what is either finished or in progress at that viewpoint.
The core contrast
Future perfect → look back from a future moment and see something completed.
“By the time I reach Venice, I will have been on the train for four hours.”
Future continuous → zoom in on a future moment and see something in progress.
“This time next Saturday, I will be walking through St Mark’s Square.”
Formation
Both tenses use will as the auxiliary, which makes them easy to build once the pattern clicks.
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Future perfect (+) | will + have + past participle | She will have finished by 5pm. |
| Future perfect (−) | won’t + have + past participle | He won’t have arrived yet. |
| Future perfect (?) | Will + subject + have + past participle? | Will you have eaten by then? |
| Future continuous (+) | will + be + verb‑ing | We will be exploring Florence. |
| Future continuous (−) | won’t + be + verb‑ing | I won’t be sleeping at midnight. |
| Future continuous (?) | Will + subject + be + verb‑ing? | Will you be working on Sunday? |
Choosing the Right Form: Signal Words
A handful of time expressions tell you almost immediately which form to reach for.
Future perfect signal words
These phrases suggest a deadline — something completed before a future point:
by + time · by the time… · before + deadline · by next + period
Examples: “by this evening” / “by the time you arrive” / “by next summer” / “before the tour ends”
Future continuous signal words
These phrases suggest a snapshot — something in progress at a precise future moment:
at + time · this time next… · when + present simple clause · still
Examples: “at 9am tomorrow” / “this time next week” / “when you call” / “still working at midnight”
Italy: A Country Always Looking Forward
Italy is a place where the ancient and the cutting-edge sit side by side — perfect territory for practising future tenses. Here are five verified facts about Italy, each one a natural home for either the future perfect or the future continuous.
1. More UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country
As of 2026, Italy holds 59 UNESCO World Heritage Sites — more than any other country on earth. The list spans the historic centres of Rome, Florence and Siena, the Amalfi Coast, the Dolomites, and dozens of Roman ruins and Renaissance palaces. If you set off on a heritage road trip through Italy, you might realise after two weeks that you will not have covered even a quarter of the list. Meanwhile, UNESCO committees will be reviewing new Italian nominations for years to come.
2. The Frecciarossa at 300 km/h
Italy’s Le Frecce (“The Arrows”) high-speed trains — including the Frecciarossa and Frecciargento — travel at speeds of up to 300 km/h, connecting Milan to Rome in under three hours. Think about that journey: when the train pulls into Roma Termini, you will have crossed over 600 kilometres in less time than a morning at the office. And for most of those three hours, you will be watching the landscape shift from the flat Po valley plains to the green rolling Apennine mountains.
3. The Colosseum: Italy’s most visited monument
The Colosseum has welcomed over 7 million visitors a year in recent years, making it the most visited monument in Italy. On a peak summer day, the queue can stretch for more than two hours. If you visit in August, by the time you finally pass through the entrance, you will have been waiting since early morning — and inside, thousands of people will be taking the exact same photograph.
4. Venice’s MOSE flood barrier
Venice has been fighting acqua alta (high water) for centuries. The MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) — a system of 78 mobile underwater barriers — now protects the lagoon from tidal surges of up to 3 metres. Engineers estimate that by 2050, the barrier system will have prevented hundreds of damaging flood events. The team monitoring the barriers will be checking sea-level data every single day, year after year.
5. Eight million pizzas, every single day
Italy produces an extraordinary eight million pizzas every day. The art of Neapolitan pizza-making was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017. By the time you finish reading this post, Italian pizzaioli will have made thousands of fresh pizzas — and somewhere in Naples, a master pizzaiolo will be spinning dough in the air with the same technique their grandparents used.
⚠️ Common Mistakes for Spanish Speakers
Spanish has the futuro perfecto (habré terminado) and structures like estaré trabajando, so the concepts exist — but Spanish learners still fall into these specific traps in English.
❌ “By next year, I will finish the course.”
✅ “By next year, I will have finished the course.”
The word by signals completion before a future deadline. You need will + have + past participle — not the simple future. Think of it as the English version of habré terminado: don’t lose the have.
❌ “By 2030, Italy will visited 60 million tourists.”
✅ “By 2030, Italy will have welcomed 60 million tourists.”
Missing the auxiliary have is the single most common future perfect error. The structure is always will + have + past participle — you cannot skip the middle piece.
❌ “At 3pm tomorrow, they will be finished the presentation.”
✅ “At 3pm tomorrow, they will have finished the presentation.”
OR: “At 3pm tomorrow, they will be finishing the presentation.”
Will be finished looks like future continuous but is not grammatical here. You need to decide: will the work be completed by 3pm (→ future perfect) or in progress at that exact moment (→ future continuous)?
❌ “This time tomorrow, I am travelling to Rome.”
✅ “This time tomorrow, I will be travelling to Rome.”
Present continuous can refer to confirmed near-future plans (“I’m flying to Rome on Friday”), but when you’re imagining a scene in progress at a specific future moment — a mental snapshot — you need the future continuous: will be + -ing.
❌ “When I will arrive in Rome, she will have already left.”
✅ “When I arrive in Rome, she will have already left.”
After the conjunctions when, before, after and by the time in time clauses, English uses the present simple — never will. Spanish speakers sometimes transfer the subjunctive directly, but English handles this differently: keep will only in the main clause.
Example Bank: 15 Sentences in an Italian Context
Study the signal words — they give you a strong clue about which form to use. FP = future perfect; FC = future continuous.
- By the end of the summer, the restoration team will have repaired all 80 arches of the Colosseum. FP
- By next July, Italy will have welcomed more than 60 million foreign visitors. FP
- When you arrive in Florence, you will have been on the train for just under two hours. FP
- By the time the pizza chef finishes his shift, he will have made over 300 pizzas. FP
- By 2050, Venice’s MOSE barrier will have prevented hundreds of damaging flood events. FP
- I hope that by Christmas I will have learned enough Italian to order my own coffee. FP
- By the time the tour guide finishes, she will have told the same story about Michelangelo four times. FP
- This time next Saturday, we will be walking across Ponte Vecchio in Florence. FC
- At midnight on New Year’s Eve, thousands of people will be celebrating in Piazza del Popolo. FC
- When you call me at 2pm, I will probably be eating a long Italian lunch. FC
- By the time the Frecciarossa reaches Rome, you will be watching the Tuscan hills roll past your window. FC
- Don’t book a table for 8pm — the kitchen will still be preparing the lunchtime orders. FC
- The architects will be presenting the restoration plans at the Milan conference all week. FC
- In ten years, engineers will be building what could become the world’s longest suspension bridge, connecting Sicily to the mainland. FC
- If you arrive at the Vatican at 9am, the guides will be opening the doors for the first visitors. FC
Also explore the present perfect continuous at B2 level — a closely related form that is worth studying alongside these two.
🎯 Quick Practice Quiz
Five questions. Try each one before you reveal the answers.
- By the time the concert ends, the orchestra ___ for three hours.
a) will play b) will have played c) will be playing d) would play - Don’t call me at 3pm — I ___ for my Italian lesson.
a) study b) will have studied c) will be studying d) had studied - Which time expression typically signals the future perfect?
a) at the moment b) right now c) by next year d) these days - Which sentence is correct?
a) By December, she will finish the project.
b) By December, she will have finished the project.
c) By December, she will be finished the project.
d) By December, she finishes the project. - You want to describe what the tourists are doing at 10am on Sunday. Which is correct?
a) They’ll have visited the Colosseum. b) They’ll be visiting the Colosseum. c) They’ll visit then. d) They’ve visited it.
▶ Reveal answer key
- b) will have played — “By the time” signals an action completed before a future point → future perfect.
- c) will be studying — “at 3pm” describes a scene in progress at a specific future time → future continuous.
- c) by next year — “By” signals a completion deadline → future perfect time marker.
- b) By December, she will have finished the project. — “by” + time → future perfect. Option a uses simple future (wrong with “by”); option c is ungrammatical.
- b) They’ll be visiting the Colosseum. — You are imagining what is happening at a precise future moment (10am Sunday) → future continuous.