I'm often asked to explain the differences between certain words.
Some English words appear similar, which can lead to the assumption that their meanings must also be the same.
A good example of this misconception occurs with the similarity of the words continuous and continual.
On appearance, they look almost identical.
While it is true that they are both adjectives and their definitions do overlap somewhat, there is still a distinction between them.
First of all, the word continuous means forming an unbroken whole without interruption.
Something that goes on without stopping is continuous.
To form a series with no exceptions or reversals is to be continuous.
There are continuous advances in medicine and treatment.
Cell phones have evolved by continuous improvements on previous designs.
Continuous is always moving forward without reversing or making exceptions.
Then there is the word continual, which to a certain degree can be used in the same way as continuous when describing something that goes on without interruption.
However, in this sense the word continuous tends to be the prominent one.
The word continuous can also be used to refer to space as well as time.
That is to say that something goes on in distance as well as over an open-ended period.
The development forms a continuous line along the coast.
The alarm sounded with a continuous whining noise.
Continual, on the other hand, typically means happening frequently with intervals between.
As in, the bus service has been disrupted by continual breakdowns.
Overall, continuous occurs much more frequently than continual.
So, to recap, continuous is to go on without a break, deviation or reversal relating to time and space.
Continual is to happen frequently with breaks or pauses in between.
The use of these words in adverb form are bound by the same definitions as their adjective forms.
Continuously and continually relates to how something occurs or behaves.
Having said that, in adverb form, continuously and continually can both be used to mean constantly and without a break or pause, often in a negative way.
which is where the confusion between these two words often arises.