The Future Perfect Tense (Førfremtid)
To express that an action will be completely finished before a certain point in the future, Danish uses the future perfect tense (førfremtid). You form it exactly as you do in English: by combining vil have (will have) with the past participle of the main verb.
| They will have launched the international branch before the summer. | De vil have lanceret den internationale filial før sommeren. |
| Fortunately, we will have launched the branch beforehand. | Heldigvis vil vi have lanceret filialen forinden. |
| She will have reached the milestone beforehand even though it is a big ambition. | Hun vil have nået milepælen forinden selvom det er en stor ambition. |
Future Completion in Subordinate Clauses
When you want to describe a timeline where one future event must finish before another can happen, Danish uses a specific tense combination.
The subordinate clause—usually starting with words like når (when), inden (before), or før (before)—uses the present perfect (har + past participle) to show that the first action is fully completed. The main clause then uses the future perfect (vil have + past participle) to describe what will be accomplished by that time.
| When I have concluded the project, I will have left the position. | Når jeg har afsluttet projektet, vil jeg have forladt stillingen. |
| Before they have appointed a new director, she will have promoted the international team. | Inden de har udnævnt en ny direktør, vil hun have forfremmet det internationale hold. |
Notice the word order in the sentences above. Because the subordinate clause comes first, it takes up the first position in the overall sentence. According to the V2 (verb-second) rule, the main clause must immediately follow with its verb (vil).
If you flip the sentence so the main clause comes first, standard word order applies:
| The boss will have appointed you to the position when you have signed the contract. | Chefen vil have udnævnt dig til stillingen når du har underskrevet kontrakten. |
| Will they have promoted him when he has reached the milestone? | Vil de have forfremmet ham når han har nået milepælen? |