Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[SARSIA]

Dear teachers:
I don't understand what's the different between continuous and continual. is it has any different?

Best wishes,
sarsia : )

[dragn]

Hi,

First of all, Webster's Third New International Dictionary lists continual and continuous as synonyms. That says a lot right there.

Both words refer to things or actions that continue without stopping or interruption. However, continual is the more common choice if the activity is intermittent; that is, if there are in fact some brief interruptions in the activity.

The rainy season is characterized by continual precipitation.
(That is, it doesn't necessarily rain 24 hours a day. It does quit raining briefly from time to time.)

Tom's continual bickering with co-workers finally cost him his job.
(He didn't bicker with them 24 hours a day, just very frequently.)

In both cases, continuous could be used with no damage to the meaning.

Continuous is the more common choice in references to physical space and time.

The speed of a falling object increases continuously as a function of time.
The prairie stretches out continuously for miles in every direction.

In usages such as these, using continual/continually would sound slightly odd.

As you argue beyond this point, you will continually find yourself splitting hairs that grow continuously finer.

Hope this helps.

Greg

[SARSIA]

thank you.