MTEL Communication Literacy Skills : Writing Practice Test

Which tense is used for actions that will have been completed at a specific future time?

1. Present Participle

2. Future Perfect Tense

3. Past Continuous Tense

4. Simple Future Tense

The correct answer is: Future Perfect Tense

The Future Perfect Tense is used for actions that will have been completed at a specific point in the future. This tense indicates that an action is expected to be finished before a certain time in the future, often utilizing the structure "will have" followed by the past participle of the verb. For example, one might say, "By next year, I will have graduated," suggesting that the graduation will be completed before that future date arrives. Other tenses do not convey this future completion aspect. The Present Participle is used for ongoing actions or states and does not indicate completion. The Past Continuous Tense describes actions that were ongoing in the past but does not relate to future actions. The Simple Future Tense refers to actions that will occur, but it does not specify whether those actions will be completed by a certain point in the future, making it unsuitable for expressing the concept encapsulated by the Future Perfect Tense.