Read the sentence. Which verb correctly completes it? "By the time we arrive, Amir the game."
- will have started (correct answer)
- will be starting
- had started
- has been starting
Explanation: The clue "By the time we arrive" points to a future moment, and we need to show that Amir's action will already be finished before that future point. That is the job of the future perfect tense: "will have" plus the past participle. So "will have started" is the correct answer. "Will be starting" is a future action still in progress, but it does not show the action being completed before another future event. "Had started" is the past perfect tense, which shows one action finished before another action in the PAST, not the future—but our sentence is about a future arrival. "Has been starting" is the present perfect progressive, which describes an ongoing action up to now, and it does not fit a future point of completion. Only "will have started" correctly places a finished action before the future time you arrive.