§ 1. The Formation of the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past

1. We form the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past by means of the auxiliary verb TO BE in the Future Perfect in the Past (would have been) and Participle I of the main verb.

WOULD HAVE BEEN + PARTICIPLE I (Ving)

E.g. I would have been writing the letter for two hours when he came.

She would have been reading the book for a week by next Monday.

In informal English we can also use short affirmative forms.

Full affirmative forms	Short affirmative forms
I (he, she, it, we, you, they) would have been working.	I (he, she, it, we, you, they)’d have been working.

2. In negative sentences we place the negative particle NOT after the first part (would) of the auxiliary verb TO BE. In informal English we use short negative forms.

E.g. I would not have been writing the letter for two hours when he came.

She wouldn’t have been reading the book for a week by next Monday.

Full negative forms	Short negative forms
I (he, she, it, we, you, they) would not have been working.	I (he, she, it, we, you, they) wouldn’t have been working.

3. In interrogative sentences (questions) we place the first part (would) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject.

E.g. Would I have been writing the letter for two hours when he came?

Would she have been reading the book for a week by next Monday?

4. In negative-interrogative sentences (negative questions) we place the first part (would) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject and the negative particle NOT after the subject. In informal English we place short negative forms before the subject.

E.g. Would I not have been writing the letter for two hours when he came?

Wouldn’t she have been reading the book for a week by next Monday?

Full negative-interrogative forms	Short negative-interrogative forms
Would I (he, she, it, we, you, they) not have been working?	Wouldn’t I (he, she, it, we, you, they) have been working?

§ 2. The Use of the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past

The Future Perfect Continuous in the Past denotes an action lasting for a certain period of time before a definite moment which was future from the point of view of the past. It is mostly used in indirect (reported) speech.

E.g. He said (that) he would have been studying at the University for a year by next September.

THE PASSIVE VOICE

§ 1. The General Notion

Voice is a grammatical category which shows the relation of the predicate to the subject and the object. There are two voices in Modern English:

• the Active Voice

• the Passive Voice

The Active Voice shows that the person or thing denoted by the subject is a doer (agent) of the action expressed by the predicate.

E.g. I wrote a letter yesterday.

The Passive Voice shows that the person or thing denoted by the subject is acted upon.

E.g. The letter was written (by me) yesterday.

Only transitive verbs (i.e. the verbs which take a direct object) are used in the Passive Voice. Intransitive verbs normally do not have passive forms.

E.g. I invited Tom to the party. – Tom was invited to the party. (transitive)

Tom arrived yesterday. (intransitive)

Active sentences can contain verbs followed by direct and indirect objects which become subjects of passive sentences. The choice between direct and indirect objects depends on whether we focus on a living being or a lifeless thing.

	She was given a book.
E.g. I gave her (indirect) a book (direct).
	A book was given (to) her by me.

The prepositions TO and FOR can be dropped before personal pronouns, but they should be used before nouns.

E.g. A book was given (to) her.

A book was given to the girl/Mary.

Verbs followed only by direct object + prepositional object in the Active Voice can have only one passive form with the direct object used as a subject of the sentence. These verbs are as follows: to demonstrate, to describe, to dictate, to donate, to carry, to explain, to introduce, to mention, to push, to report, to suggest, etc.

E.g. I explained the rule to her.	The rule was explained to her.
	(NOT ‘She was explained the rule.’)

NOTE 1. Many stative verbs cannot be used in the Passive Voice even if they are transitive.

E.g. She likes tea. (NOT ‘Tea is liked by her.’)

I have a nice cottage. (NOT ‘A nice cottage is had by me.’)

NOTE 2. In Modern English there is a group of intransitive verbs which are always used with prepositions (prepositional verbs). These verbs can have passive forms. When prepositional verbs become predicates of passive sentences, the prepositions are not dropped.

E.g. They were looking at the picture carefully. – The picture was being carefully looked at.

We listened to her attentively. – She was listened to attentively.