By This Time Next Year, I'll Have Finished
Future Perfect and Future Continuous. Leo writes 'The Plan' in his notebook after closing time: a second café, a finished business degree, and somewhere in there — learning to delegate.
📖 Reading: Leo's Five-Year Plan
Leo is sitting at the café after closing time, writing in a notebook he calls "The Plan".
"By this time next year, I will have opened a second Café Colibri location," he writes. "I will have hired a full-time manager for this one."
"In two years, I will have finished my business degree. By then, I will be running two cafés and studying part-time."
He pauses, rereads the page, and adds: "In five years, I will have built something I'm proud of."
Maya reads over his shoulder. "That's impressive. What will you be doing on a typical Tuesday in five years?"
"I'll be meeting with suppliers in the morning, reviewing finances in the afternoon, and tasting new coffee blends at the end of the day," says Leo without hesitation.
"And what will you have learned by then that you don't know now?"
Leo thinks. "How to delegate. How to rest. And hopefully — how to make the perfect cortado."
"By the time I leave Toronto," says Maya with a smile, "you will have taught me everything I know about coffee."
"By the time you leave," says Leo quietly, "I will have made you a Torontonian."
🔑 Vocabulary Box
Eight key words from this lesson.
| Word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| delegate | To give tasks or responsibilities to someone else | v. — He needs to learn how to delegate. |
| supplier | A company or person that provides goods to a business | n. — He'll be meeting with suppliers. |
| finance | Money management; the financial matters of a business | n. — He'll review finances in the afternoon. |
| blend | A mixture of two or more types of coffee (or tea) | n. — He'll be tasting new coffee blends. |
| hesitation | A pause before doing or saying something | n. — He answered without hesitation. |
| cortado | A type of coffee made with equal parts espresso and milk | n. — He wants to perfect the cortado. |
| Torontonian | A person from Toronto | n. — He jokes that Maya will become a Torontonian. |
| impressive | Causing admiration; notably good or ambitious | adj. — That's impressive, says Maya. |
📚 Key Verbs & Structures in This Lesson | |
will have + past participle | By next year, I will have opened a second café. |
will be + -ing | I'll be meeting suppliers every morning. |
By the time... | By the time I leave, you will have learned everything. |
In [time], I will have... | In five years, I will have built something great. |
📚 Grammar Focus
📚 Future Perfect — Form & Use | |
Form | will have + past participle |
Positive | I will have finished by then. / She'll have opened a second café. |
Negative | I won't have finished. / He won't have graduated yet. |
Question | Will you have finished by Friday? / Will she have arrived by 8? |
Use | An action completed before a specific point in the future. |
Future Continuous — Form & Use
📚 Future Continuous — Form & Use | |
Form | will be + -ing |
Positive | I'll be working. / They'll be travelling next week. |
Negative | I won't be coming. / She won't be staying long. |
Question | Will you be attending? / What will you be doing at 8 AM? |
Use | An action in progress at a specific point in the future. |
Future Time Expressions
📚 Future Time Expressions | |
By + time | By next year / By the time you read this / By Friday |
In + period | In five years / In two months / In a decade |
At this time + future | At this time next year, I'll be living in London. |
🎭 Dialogue: Where Will You Be in Five Years?
Priya and Leo trade five-year plans across the café counter. Future Perfect for milestones, Future Continuous for everyday life.
Leo, where do you see yourself in five years?
I'll have opened at least two more cafés. And I'll have finally learned to delegate!
Ha! What will you be doing on a typical day?
Meeting suppliers, tasting coffee, reviewing numbers. You?
I will have finished medical school. I'll be doing my residency.
That's amazing. Will you have moved back to India by then?
I'm not sure. By then I'll have decided where I want to build my career.
I'll be here. This café will be ten years old in five years!
Practice Exercises
3 questionsNew exercises to reinforce what you learned. Different from the lesson material.
What does Leo plan to have done by this time next year?
What will Leo be doing on a typical Tuesday in five years?
What three things does Leo think he will have learned in five years?
Practice Exercises
3 questionsNew exercises to reinforce what you learned. Different from the lesson material.
By next June, Leo ___ a second café. (open — Future Perfect)
In two years, he ___ his business degree. (finish — Future Perfect)
By the time Maya leaves, she ___ a lot about coffee. (learn — Future Perfect)
🎭 Now It's Your Turn — Role Play
Practice with a partner. Use the dialogue as a model and extend it.
- Student A: Interview your partner about their 5-year and 10-year plans.
- Student B: Answer using Future Perfect (what you will have achieved) and Future Continuous (what you will be doing).
- Questions to use: Where will you be living? What will you have accomplished? Will you have…? What will you be doing at this time in five years?