continual

«continual» in Mova's school dictionary: happening again and again, often in an annoying way, with… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (continual; more continual — rare)

meaning for a pupil

1) Continual means happening again and again, often in an annoying way, with short breaks in between. tree →

2) Continual can also mean going on all the time without stopping, though «continuous» is the better word for that. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, continual tells the reader that something keeps happening and is often tiresome: «continual interruptions», «continual complaints». In science, careful writers use «continuous» for something that never stops, like a continuous line or a continuous flow, and «continual» for something that repeats. Common phrases: «continual noise», «continual interruptions», «continual rain», «a continual worry».

examples

• The teacher was tired of the continual chatter at the back of the class. tree →
• My little brother's continual questions drove me mad on the long car trip. tree →
• There was continual rain all week in Ireland. tree →
• The puppy needs continual attention while it is small. tree →
• Continual practice made her a good swimmer. tree →
• The old car had continual problems with its engine. tree →
• Their continual arguing spoiled the picnic. tree →
• The heavens were lighted up with continual flashes, and peal after peal of thunder rolled. tree →

note

The adverb is «continually». Trap: «continual» = again and again with breaks (the phone rang continually); «continuous» = without any break at all (a continuous line, continuous noise of a fridge). Many people mix them up, and in everyday talk this is accepted, but in tests choose «continuous» for no breaks.

In the corpora

• This is the burnt-offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt-offering, and the drink-offering thereof.
• Ye shall offer these beside the burnt-offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt-offering.
• All the days of the poor are evil; but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
• A foolish son is the calamity of his father; and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
• A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike;

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «continual» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.