continually
part of speech
adverb
meaning for a pupil
1) Continually means again and again, very often, with short breaks in between. tree →
2) Sometimes it is used to mean all the time, without stopping. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life and stories it often shows something is annoying or tiring: «He continually interrupts». In science it can describe something that keeps happening: the Earth is continually moving. It tells the reader that an action repeats a lot. Often confused with «continuously».
examples
- My little brother continually asks «Why?». tree →
- The teacher had to remind them continually to stay in their seats. tree →
- The phone rang continually all afternoon. tree →
- The coastline is continually changing because of the waves. tree →
- She was continually late for football practice. tree →
- Scientists are continually finding new species in the rainforest. tree →
- Prices in the shop seem to go up continually. tree →
- "What is it you are continually grumbling about?" tree →
note
Adverb from the adjective «continual». Spelled with double l: continually. Trap: «continually» usually means repeated with gaps (the dog barked continually all night, in bursts), while «continuously» means without any break at all (the river flows continuously). Many people mix them up, and in casual talk they are often used the same way.
In the corpora
- And the waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.
- Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
- Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out.
- He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.
- And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David's enemy continually.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «continually» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.