Continuous or Continual?
Many writers use continuous and continual as if they were exact synonyms, but my English teachers taught their students to distinguish between them.
Both adjectives describe duration.
Continuous indicates duration without interruption.
Ex. The continuous humming of the fluorescent lights gave him a headache.
Continual indicates duration that continues over a long period of time, but with intervals of interruption.
Ex. The continual street repair disrupted traffic for nearly two years.
The adverbs continuously and continually preserve the same distinction:
Ex. The child screamed continuously as long as its mother was on the telephone.
In this part of the country it rains continually during April.
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Until now, I think I fell into the “exact synonym” group of writers.
As a mnemonic: continuAL ~ intervAL, while continuoUS ~ unbroken like a trUSs.
Thank you for this! Continual(ly) vs. continuous(ly) is one of my pet distinctions, and one that I try to get my fellow writers/translators to abide by. Of course, many fairly official sources no longer demand the distinction, but I think it preserves the richness and integrity of the language to keep it!
What about continuing Vs continued?
Mohamed,
Both continuing and continued are forms of the verb to continue.
Continuing (present participle); continued (simple past and past participle forms).
Ex. This king is continuing the work of his father.
The construction continued for twenty years.
In all my dealings, I have continued to obey the law.
Maeve,
What I meant is the use of continuing/continued as adjectives and not verbs. e.g. “I look forward to your continuing/continued support.” I am not sure what it is, but I believe there must be a slight difference in their meanings here.
Thanks for your feedback.
Mohamed,
I’m not sure I know how to formulate a rule for this one.
Continuing, as a present participle, implies an action that is going on in the present.
Universities have Departments of Continuing Education, but they often ask their contributors for their continued support.
As an adjective for “support,” continuing and continued seem to be used interchangeably.
On the other hand, one speaks of a continuing rain, but not a continued rain; a continuing antagonism, but not a continued antagonism.
It may be that continued support is one of those expressions that has become acceptable by wide use.
I think you use ‘continued’ when you are not sure wheather the action will happen today or tomorrow, but it was there until yesterday. You use ‘continuing’ when you know it’s going on right now and most likely will be happening the next day. It’s just an opinion of mine. I am no way an expert in grammer.
Our tip for remembering the difference is this:
“Continuous” sounds like “Contiguous,” which means touching or adjacent, so we use “continuous” for actions that are “touching,” i.e., incessant, without break. If that is not the word we need, we use “continual.”