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quote:
Tom will finish his work at midnight.

and

Tom will have finished his work at midnight.

"Tom will finish his work at midnight" means that he will be working until midnight, and midnight is more or less the exact time he will finish working.

"Tom will have finished his work by midnight" means that Tom will work until a time before midnight, when the work will be finished. We don't know when. Maybe 8, 9 or 10 o'clock.

Note that with the future perfect, we usually use the preposition by, or before.

RA
Last edited by Rachel, Moderator
No.

"Future simple" tells about something that is predicted to happen or will happen in the future. For example, firve years from now, in August 2113, little Sally will begin kindergarten. Little Sally is only two weeks old right now.

But before that time, little Sally will have learned to walk, to talk and to do many other things that she can't do now. She will learn how to do these things during the next few years, but she will have finished learning them at some time before she begins kindergarten. There will be a space of time between the end of learning those things and the beginning of kindergarten.

This is different from the future simple, in which you just describe things in the future.

Here's how the sentences are with the different tenses"

  • In August 2113, little Sally will begin kindergarten.

  • By August 2113, little Sally will have learned how to walk, how to talk, how to eat by herself, how to throw things, probably how to swim, and many more things.


    RA
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