I'have been asleep

[svetlana14]

In the sentence "Don't phone after 11.00. I'll be/I'have been asleep. Why "I'have been asleep" does not work here? Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

In the sentence "Don't phone after 11.00. I'll be/I no apostrophe here have been asleep", why doesn't "I'have been asleep" [STRIKE]does not[/STRIKE] work here?

[STRIKE]Thank you.[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. Thank us after we help you, by clicking on the "Thank" button.

"Don't phone after 11" puts the action in the future so the second half of the sentence needs to express the same. Only "I'll be asleep" does that.

"I have been asleep" refers to the past.

 

[svetlana14]

What is the correct answer in case there are choices between "Don't phone after 11.00. I'll be/I will have been asleep"? I am a little bit confused about "asleep" in case of its usage in "will have been asleep". For me, it means that "I" have fall asleep before someone comes and he/she will find that I will be (still/already) in the state of sleep (in other words, the action (expressed by the adjective "asleep") completed but the result is in place and the result and the action are two sides of the same process). It is another situation if the action expressed by the verb will have been completed (for instance, I will have already read the book, wrote the letter, left the house). In this case, it is obvious that the action is done/completed. Could you please explain to me such nuances.

 

[Tarheel]

The chances of using "will have been asleep" are very small. Don't worry about it. However, "Don't call after eleven o'clock. I'll probably be asleep" is quite possible.

 

[svetlana14]

Can I admit that "have been asleep" and "will have been late" can hardly be used in the Future Perfect (not used at all) as they suggest more "state" rather than the "action" and such state can hardly be think of as completed/done. For instance, in "By the time Jean gets back, it'll be/it will have been late", the reference to "late" as completed would be doubtful as "lateness" is not the action, it is just the state. The Present Perfect suggests that the action should be completed by the time. Am I right?

 

[Glizdka]

Not a teacher
------

Hello, svetlana14!

You seem to have accidentally caused some confusion in this thread:

In the sentence "Don't phone after 11.00. I'll be/I have been asleep. Why "I have been asleep" does not work here? Thank you.

What is the correct answer in case there are choices between "Don't phone after 11.00. I'll be/I will have been asleep"? I am a little bit confused about "asleep" in case of its usage in "will have been asleep".

Are you asking about "I have been asleep" or "I will have been asleep"? As emsr2d2 has pointed out in post #2, "I have been asleep" is incorrect; you need a future tense.

If your question is about "I will have been asleep", and you've just accidentally forgotten will in your sentence, consider this:

Being asleep describes the state you are in.
Falling asleep describes the transition from being awake to being asleep.

If, for some reason, you really wanted to use the future perfect construction (I will have past participle), you'd need to use fallen asleep - "I will have (already) fallen asleep".

I wouldn't say that, though. I'd keep it simple and just say "Don't call me after 11. I'll be asleep". It's something you might actually hear.

 

[svetlana14]

Hello, You are right. I have forgotten "will" in my sentence and my questions actually related to the usage of "I will have been asleep" vs "it'll be". I have taken this sentence form an advance language practice book. Following your explanation, which is helpful, I can conclude that one should not use the adjective related constructions (like being asleep, being (too) late, etc. As they themselves as the states can hardly express the idea that something is completed by the time something else happens. Such “idea” is the prerequisite for the Present Perfect Tense to work. Am I right?

 

[Glizdka]

Hello, You are right. I have forgotten "will" in my sentence and my questions actually related to the usage of "I will have been asleep" vs "it'll be". I have taken this sentence form an advance language practice book. Following your explanation, which is helpful, I can conclude that one should not use the adjective related constructions (like being asleep, being (too) late, etc. As they themselves as the states can hardly express the idea that something is completed by the time something else happens. Such “idea” is the prerequisite for the Present Perfect Tense to work. Am I right?

The construction you're asking about is not the present perfect. It's the future perfect.

No, it's not the perfect aspect alone that makes "I will have been asleep" incorrect in your original post; it's the context.

"I will have been asleep" is grammatical, but it requires a different context to be correct. Consider this:

"The REM phase occurs long after falling asleep. The average person will have been asleep for about 90 minutes when their first REM phase begins."

 

[5jj]

As Tarheel noted, the chances of using "will have been asleep" are very small. The construction is, however, possible:

By the time Jack gets home, I will have been asleep for hours.

The fact that we do not often need to talk about situations in which the future perfect is required does not mean that we cannot ever use it.

 

[svetlana14]

Is it the same to say "By the time Jack gets home, I will have been fallen asleep for hours"? Can I conclude that the construction with "I will have been asleep" plus the time duration is the same as future perfect continious?

 

[5jj]

Is it the same to say "By the time Jack gets home, I will have been fallen asleep for hours"?

No. Falling asleep is a process of short duration. It cannot continue for hours. I will have been fallen asleep is a non-grammatical form.

Can I conclude that the construction with "I will have been asleep" plus the time duration is the same as future perfect continious?

No.

 

[Glizdka]

Is it the same to say "By the time Jack gets home, I will have been fallen asleep for hours"?

No. "I will have been fallen asleep for hours" is incorrect. It's ungrammatical as it is. Even if we fixed it by removing been, "I will have fallen asleep for hours" would still be incorrect. Fall asleep describes the transition from awake to asleep. If you add for hours to it, it sounds like you're describing how long the transition takes, not the state after the transition. You need be asleep here. "I have been asleep for hours".

Can I conclude that the construction with "I will have been asleep" plus the time duration is the same as future perfect continuous?

I'm not sure you're using the term correctly. You've previously called the future perfect construction the present perfect, and now I suspect you're calling "I will have been fallen asleep" the future perfect continuous, which it's not.

Just to clarify:

Present perfect - "I have fallen asleep."
Present perfect continuous - "I have been falling asleep."
Future simple - "I will fall asleep."
Future perfect - "I will have fallen asleep."
Future perfect continuous - "I will have been falling asleep."
Ungrammatical - [STRIKE]"I will have been fallen asleep."[/STRIKE]

 

[Tarheel]

Bob: I will fall asleep.
Me (an insomniac): That's being optimistic.
;-)

 

[emsr2d2]

1. Is it the same to say "By the time Jack gets home, I will have been fallen asleep for hours"?

2. Can I conclude that the construction with "I will have been asleep" plus the time duration is the same as the future perfect continuous?

1. No. You can't use "fallen asleep" with a time duration. It's an action, not a state.

2. What do you mean by "is the same as the future perfect continuous". It can't be the same because it's not the continuous.

 

[probus]

Bob: I will fall asleep.
Me (an insomniac): That's being optimistic.
;-)

Svetlana, that's why it would be more natural to say "I will have gone to bed." When we go to bed we hope to fall asleep promptly but we can't be certain that we will.