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Magixo Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

BY THE TIME... (IN THE FUTURE)

Will you comment on the following two sentences, please. Which one is right?

1) By the time I am 40, I will have been working hard in journalism.

2) By the time I am 40, I will be working hard in journalism.

Thank you very much,

Magixo
  

Top answer

#1 is grammatically possible, but feels strange. More likely would be something like "By the time I am 40, I will have been working hard in journalism for twenty years". The "for twenty years" helps to "complete" an idea that otherwise seems unfinished.

— Mr Wordy

  • #1 is grammatically possible, but feels strange.
  • More likely would be something like "By the time I am 40, I will have been working hard in journalism for twenty years".
  • The "for twenty years" helps to "complete" an idea that otherwise seems unfinished.
  • #2 is OK.
  • The two don't mean the same thing, so it's not a question of "which one is right".
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4 Answers
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#1 is grammatically possible, but feels strange. More likely would be something like "By the time I am 40, I will have been working hard in journalism for twenty years". The "for twenty years" helps to "complete" an idea that otherwise seems unfinished.

#2 is OK.

The two don't mean the same thing, so it's not a question of "which one is right". The difference corresponds to the
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magixo By the time I am 40, I will be working hard in journalism.
Without the extra information -- as mentioned in the previous post -- you'll need this one.

The first one implies that at the point in time mentioned (when you're 40), you will already have had experience in journalism. The second one does not carry the same implication.

CJ
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Hi,
By the time I am 40, I would have been working hard in journalism.- will be the correct one I guess

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AnonymousBy the time I am 40, I would have been working hard in journalism.- will be the correct one I guess
No. You guessed wrong. I am doesn't go with would have been.

CJ
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