Future Perfect vs Will

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Anonymous

#268534 Sun, 17 Sep 06 09:31 PM

I am currently dealing with Future Perfect and I have come across one thing I don't understand.

I'm sure the parcel will have arrived by Tom's birthday. I'm sure the parcel will arrive by Tom's birthday.

Is there any difference between those two sentences? What is the difference between Future Perfect and will?

What about these sentences: Next year we will have been married for 25 years. Next year we will be married for 25 years. ?

Thanks a lot.

Katka

Anonymous

Difference Between

Philip

#268557 Sun, 17 Sep 06 10:22 PM

Anonymous wrote:

I am currently dealing with Future Perfect and I have come across one thing I don't understand.

I'm sure the parcel will have arrived by Tom's birthday. not good I'm sure the parcel will arrive by Tom's birthday. good

In the first sentence, I think you need "before" rather than "by".

Is there any difference between those two sentences? What is the difference between Future Perfect and will?

What about these sentences: Next year we will have been married for 25 years. good Next year we will be married for 25 years. ? Not so good. Possible indication that you will marry next year and stay married for 25 years (Next month I will go to France for 3 weeks.)

Thanks a lot.

Katka

Philip

Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005

USA Pacific Northwest (Seattle)

Veteran Member (6,320)

At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen

Difference Between

Marius Hancu

#268564 Sun, 17 Sep 06 10:52 PM

I'm sure the parcel will have arrived by Tom's birthday.
I think this is correct with by too. From The New York Times:

German Town Copes With Its Share of Foreigners

... that 500,000 asylum-seekers will have arrived by the end of this year

Marius Hancu

Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006

Montreal, Canada

Veteran Member (11,673)

Clive

#268574 Sun, 17 Sep 06 11:41 PM

Hi,

I am currently dealing with Future Perfect and I have come across one thing I don't understand.

I'm sure the parcel will have arrived by Tom's birthday. I'm sure the parcel will arrive by Tom's birthday.

Is there any difference between those two sentences? What is the difference between Future Perfect and will?

What about these sentences: Next year we will have been married for 25 years. Next year we will be married for 25 years. ?

Let's look at a simpler example.

Tomorrow, the phone will have rung by 5pm. This means that the phone will ring sometime before 5pm, eg 4 pm. At 5pm, we will have the 'result/effect' of that event.

Tomorrow, the phone will ring at 5pm. This means 'not at 4pm, not at 6pm, but at 5pm'.

Do you see, from this example, the difference between the two tenses?

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (22,496)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Difference Between, Tenses

milky

#268589 Mon, 18 Sep 06 12:37 AM

Simple prediction. (will arrive)

Projecting ourselves into the future and looking back at a completed action. (will have arrived)

milky

Joined on Thu, Jan 15 2004

Senior Member (3,149)

Hume said that if we had perfect or complete descriptive knowledge of reality, we could not, by reasoning, derive a single valid "ought".

Katarinka

#268740 Mon, 18 Sep 06 11:07 AM

I understand the difference in your examples, but I dont understand the difference in mine Smile [:)]

I mean, for example that wedding thing. I have come across that example in a book called Grammar and Vocabulary for CAE and CPE. I would never use will have been married for 25 years, I would probably use just plain will. I hate future tense, I cant work it out. Can you please tell me the difference between those two? thanks.

Katarinka

Joined on Sun, Sep 17 2006

Slovakia

New Member (28)

Grammar, Vocabulary, Weddings, Difference Between, Tenses

J Lewis

#268744 Mon, 18 Sep 06 11:15 AM

will have been married for 25 years is just the future form of have been married for 25 years and is perfectly correct. We will be married for 25 years sounds like a prediction of the duration of your marriage (then you'll get divorced).