The Future Perfect (Futur II)
When discussing long-term plans, you often want to describe an action that will have been completed by a specific deadline. To express this, German uses the Future Perfect (Futur II).
You form this tense by combining three pieces:
- A conjugated form of werden in the normal verb position (usually the second position).
- The past participle of your main verb pushed to the end of the clause.
- The infinitive helper verb haben (or sein) at the very end of the clause.
You will frequently see this tense paired with time markers like bis (by) or spätestens (at the latest) to set the deadline.
| I will have paid off the loan in five years at the latest. | Spätestens in fünf Jahren werde ich den Kredit abbezahlt haben. |
| By retirement, he will have saved up enough. | Bis zum Ruhestand wird er genug angespart haben. |
| By retirement, we will have financed the retirement provision. | Bis zum Ruhestand werden wir die Altersvorsorge finanziert haben. |
Using "sein" Instead of "haben"
Just like in the regular past tense (Perfekt), verbs that describe a change of state or a movement from one place to another require sein instead of haben as their helper verb.
In the Future Perfect, the structure is exactly the same, but you simply place the infinitive sein at the very end of the sentence instead of haben.
| In twenty years, they will have emigrated to Spain. | In zwanzig Jahren werden sie nach Spanien ausgewandert sein. |
| Will you already have emigrated while your partner stays here? | Wirst du schon ausgewandert sein, während dein Partner hier bleibt? |
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