If I am not mistaken one of the keywords for this tense is "by". e.g By august I will have done my work. But lately, I have found this example: In August Gordon will have been at this company for 25 years. Is it correct to say "In August" ? Shouldn't it be By August?
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1... one of the keywords for this tense is "by" -- what is the source for this?– KrisCommented Nov 24, 2018 at 8:06
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1 Answer
Both are correct, because neither is necessary.
Compare the statement I will have been alive 60 years. This makes sense, but you'd tend to wonder when this event will occur, because future perfect can be at any point after now. To help your audience understand when, you need a subordinate clause indicating when, during, or something semantically equivalent to those two. This is where we get additions like In August and By August.
In helps establish when this will happen by giving us the time frame of August 1 - August 31. By helps establish when this will happen by restricting the time frame implied by future perfect tense (that time frame being after now) to after now, but before this other event. So we essentially have in meaning between day 1 and day 31, and by meaning between today and August 1.
You can use either, it just depends on what you want to communicate - by gives us up until this point, whereas in gives us between these two points.
