Future Perfect & Future Continuous – English Grammar Exercises for B2
You are reading a formal news article about the projected impacts of climate change and sea-level rise. Choose the correct tense (A, B, C, or D) to complete the journalistic report naturally.
1 According to the latest environmental reports, by 2050, global sea levels ______ by at least 30 centimeters.
(A) will be rising
(B) will rise
(C) will have risen
(D) rise
2 Environmental scientists warn that while politicians debate, the polar ice caps ______ at an unprecedented rate over the next decade.
(A) will have melted
(B) will be melting
(C) melt
(D) will melt
3 If no immediate interventions are made, by the end of this century, we ______ dozens of coastal cities to the ocean.
(A) will have lost
(B) will be losing
(C) will lose
(D) lose
4 In the 2040s, millions of climate refugees ______ new homes inland as their island nations become uninhabitable.
(A) will have sought
(B) will seek
(C) will be seeking
(D) seek
5 Unless global carbon emissions drop dramatically, average global temperatures ______ by a dangerous 2 degrees Celsius by 2060
(A) will be increasing
(B) will increase
(C) will have increased
(D) increase
6 Throughout the next few decades, severe hurricanes and extreme weather events ______ vulnerable coastal regions much more frequently.
(A) will have struck
(B) will strike
(C) will be striking
(D) strike
7 Experts predict that by the time the next major climate summit takes place, several low-lying island nations ______ underwater completely.
(A) will be disappearing
(B) will have disappeared
(C) disappear
(D) will disappear
8 Between 2030 and 2050, agricultural sectors worldwide ______ to cope with severe and prolonged droughts.
(A) will have struggled
(B) will be struggling
(C) will struggle
(D) struggle
9 Marine biologists project that by the year 2070, ocean acidification ______ over 80% of the world’s natural coral reefs.
(A) will have destroyed
(B) will be destroying
(C) will destroy
(D) destroys
10 As the global population grows, coastal engineers ______ massive sea walls to protect major financial capitals around the clock.
(A) will have built
(B) will build
(C) will be building
(D) build
11 By the end of this current decade, humanity ______ millions of additional tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse effect.
(A) will be pumping
(B) will pump
(C) will have pumped
(D) pumps
12 During the late 2050s, local and federal governments ______ billions of dollars annually just on flood management.
(A) will have spent
(B) will spend
(C) will be spending
(D) spend
13 We must act now, because by 2080, the Amazon rainforest ______ an irreversible tipping point.
(A) will have reached
(B) will be reaching
(C) reaches
(D) will reach
14 If current warming trends continue, by 2100, the Arctic Ocean ______ entirely ice-free summers.
(A) will be experiencing
(B) will experience
(C) experiences
(D) will have experienced
15 Over the coming years, encroaching saltwater ______ vital freshwater reservoirs along the coast, creating a drinking water crisis.
(A) will have contaminated
(B) will be contaminating
(C) contaminates
(D) will contaminate
16 Environmental organizations warn that by 2045, human industrial activities ______ thousands of marine species to extinction.
(A) will be driving
(B) will drive
(C) will have driven
(D) drive
17 While international leaders attempt to draft new treaties, global supply chains ______ constant disruptions due to unpredictable weather patterns.
(A) will have faced
(B) will be facing
(C) face
(D) will face
18 By the time significant policy changes are finally implemented across the globe, the damage to our fragile ecosystems ______ permanent.
(A) will be becoming
(B) will become
(C) becomes
(D) will have become
19 However, there is a small margin of hope. By 2040, researchers ______ new technologies capable of extracting carbon directly from the air.
(A) will have developed
(B) will be developing
(C) will develop
(D) develop
20 At this exact time next year, climate activists ______ outside parliament buildings globally to demand immediate legislative action.
(A) will have protested
(B) will protest
(C) will be protesting
(D) protest
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) will have risen
Why it is correct: “By 2050” acts as a future deadline. The article is reporting a cumulative, completed outcome (a 30-centimeter rise) that will be achieved prior to that year. This requires the Future Perfect.
2 (B) will be melting
Why it is correct: “Over the next decade” indicates a continuous duration of time. The melting of the ice caps is an ongoing process that will be happening throughout this period. This requires the Future Continuous.
3 (A) will have lost
Why it is correct: “By the end of this century” sets a definitive deadline. The loss of the cities is a completed, tragic consequence that will have happened by then.
4 (C) will be seeking
Why it is correct: “In the 2040s” refers to a decade-long period. The refugees will be in the ongoing process of migrating and seeking homes during that era.
5 (C) will have increased
Why it is correct: “By 2060” is the deadline. The 2-degree increase is a specific, accumulated threshold that will be reached and completed before that year.
6 (C) will be striking
Why it is correct: “Throughout the next few decades” implies a continuous, repeating action over a long period. The extreme weather will be an ongoing phenomenon.
7 (B) will have disappeared
Why it is correct: “By the time the next major climate summit takes place” is a deadline constraint. The disappearance of the islands will be an accomplished, irreversible fact before the summit begins.
8 (B) will be struggling
Why it is correct: “Between 2030 and 2050” establishes a continuous block of time. The agricultural sectors will be actively and ongoingly struggling during these two decades.
9 (A) will have destroyed
Why it is correct: “By the year 2070” is the deadline. The destruction of 80% of the reefs is a completed, devastating milestone that will be finished prior to that year.
10 (C) will be building
Why it is correct: “Around the clock” (meaning 24/7) implies continuous, non-stop action. Engineers will be actively in the middle of building sea walls as the population grows.
11 (C) will have pumped
Why it is correct: “By the end of this current decade” acts as a future deadline. The millions of tons of CO2 represents a total, completed quantity accumulated before that time.
12 (C) will be spending
Why it is correct: “During the late 2050s” and “annually” indicate a continuous, ongoing action that spans across a timeframe.
13 (A) will have reached
Why it is correct: “By 2080” is a deadline. Reaching a tipping point is a singular milestone that will be completely achieved before the year arrives.
14 (D) will have experienced
Why it is correct: “By 2100” is the deadline. The experience of an entirely ice-free summer is an event that will be completed and recorded in history before the turn of the next century.
15 (B) will be contaminating
Why it is correct: “Over the coming years” signals a continuous, unfolding process. The saltwater will be actively invading the freshwater reservoirs.
16 (C) will have driven
Why it is correct: “By 2045” is a strict deadline. The extinction of these species is a finalized, completed outcome occurring before that year.
17 (B) will be facing
Why it is correct: “While international leaders attempt…” sets up a simultaneous ongoing action. The supply chains will be actively facing disruptions at the exact same time.
18 (D) will have become
Why it is correct: “By the time significant policy changes are finally implemented” sets a deadline. The damage becoming permanent will be a completed state before the policies even take effect.
19 (A) will have developed
Why it is correct: “By 2040” acts as a deadline. The development of this new technology is a targeted scientific milestone to be completed before that year.
20 (C) will be protesting
Why it is correct: “At this exact time next year” points to a specific future moment. The activists will be actively in the middle of their protests right then.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The “Macro-Milestone” Tense (Future Perfect):
- In high-level journalism (B2-C1), the Future Perfect (will have + past participle) is the standard tool to report on the cumulative, macro-level consequences of an issue. It emphasizes the total damage, statistics, or milestones that will be reached before a specific long-term deadline.
- Journalistic Keywords: By 2050, by the end of the century, by the time policies change.
- Example: “By 2050, the ocean will have risen by 30 cm.” (Emphasizing the completed accumulation of the water level).
2 The “Ongoing Crisis” Tense (Future Continuous):
- Journalists use the Future Continuous (will be + V-ing) to describe the harsh realities and ongoing struggles that people or ecosystems will face over a specific period. It paints a vivid, continuous picture of a future era.
- Journalistic Keywords: During the 2040s, over the next decade, throughout the century, between X and Y.
- Example: “In the 2040s, millions will be seeking new homes.” (Painting a picture of an ongoing global migration).
3 Expressing Urgency:
- News reports often combine these tenses to create a sense of urgency: “While politicians will be debating (Future Continuous), the planet will have reached a tipping point (Future Perfect).” This highlights that ongoing delays will result in permanent consequences.