Hamid
Is this sentence grammatically correct? (Future perfect continuous) By tomorrow, I will have been having my insurance for six months. If it’s not correct, is there another way of saying it? Thank you
Nov 30, 2022 1:18 PM
Answers · 8
4
Hi Hamid, it's incorrect because you don't usually use the verb "have" in a continuous tense. The correct sentence is: By tomorrow I will have had my insurance for six months.
November 30, 2022
3
As Michael says, you don't usually use have in the continuous when it's a state verb - e.g. when it means to possess. It is used in the continuous when it describes an action - e.g. I'll be having lunch at 12.30 tomorrow.
November 30, 2022
When I used to teach my continuous tenses to my students, I always tried to have them think about the present continuous as their normal time frame and the past and future as alternative time frames. In my normal time frame, 2022, I have been running for 4 years. In one of my alternate timelines, 2020, I have been I have been running for 2 years. In my other alternate time frame, 2024, I have been running for 6 years. All three time frames express the same idea. There is a continuous activity that I was involved in up to my corresponding time frame. One is today, another is 2 years ago and the final is 2 years in the future. In referencing my alternate time frames to my current time frame, I distinguish them by them by applying the correct version of "to have" based on whether it takes place in the past or the future. In 2020, I HAD been running for 2 years. (past) Today, I HAVE been running for 4 years. (present) In 2024, I WILL HAVE been running for 6 years. (future) This works in most continuous actions that express a habit, routine, state of being or physical activity. Is is possible to use have in the continuous tense, example: By the time the doctor becomes available, I will have been having these headaches for two weeks. The reason I don't think it works for your example is because we don't use have in the continuous sense unless it is expressing an action or a state of being. For example: I have an apple - implies possession of an apple I am having an apple - implies the action of eating an apple. If I were to use it in a present continuous tense, "I have been having an apple every morning for three years" implies that you've been eating lots of apples for breakfast. But conversely, we can never say, "I am having insurance" Because insurance is an intangible asset that can't be acted upon physically (unlike an apple). I hope this helps clarify things.
November 30, 2022
No it is not. When the verb have shows possession it does not have a progressive (ING) Form. So the correct way to say that is "I will have had"
November 30, 2022
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