Continually vs. Continuously: Differences and Use

continually - the action is ongoing, but only happens from time to time; continuously - the action is ongoing and doesn't stop. For example, it may feel like ... HomeGrammar Continuallyvs.Continuously:DifferencesandUse Continuallyvs.Continuously:DifferencesandUse Isyourbrothercontinuallyannoyingyouorcontinuouslyannoyingyou?What'sthedifferencebetweenthesewords—anddoesitreallymatter?Learnwhentousecontinuallyvs.continuouslyinyourwriting. Continually-LadderarrowsvsContinuously-arrowscircleexamples Advertisement DifferencesBetweenContinuallyandContinuouslyBothcontinuallyandcontinuouslyareadverbsoffrequency.Theycomefromtheverb"tocontinue"andindicatethatanactionisongoing.Butdespitethesesimilarities,thereisakeydifferenceintheirmeaning: continually-theactionisongoing,butonlyhappensfromtimetotimecontinuously-theactionisongoinganddoesn'tstop Forexample,itmayfeellikeyourbrotheriscontinuouslyannoyingyou.Buthetakesbreakstosleep,gotoschool,brushhisteeth,andsoon—sohe'scontinuallyannoyingyou.MemoryTrickforContinuallyvs.ContinuouslyConsiderthewordconstantlywhendecidingwhichofthesewordstouse.Ithasan"s,"justlikecontinuously.Actionsthatoccurcontinuouslyareconstant—actionsthatoccurcontinuallyarefrequent,butnotconstant.UsingContinuallyandContinuouslyinWritingBecausecontinuallyandcontinuouslyaresosimilar,it'seasytogetthemmixedup.Reviewthefollowingexamplestoseehowthesewordsshouldbeusedinasentence. ItrainscontinuouslyinSeattle.(Incorrect-itwouldneverstoprainingifthisweretrue)ItrainscontinuallyinSeattle.(Correct-itrainsalot,butnoteverysecond) Thehumanheartbeatscontinuallythroughouttheday.(Incorrect-youwoulddieifyourhearttookbreaksfrombeating)Thehumanheartbeatscontinuouslythroughouttheday.(Correct-itneverstopsbeating) Myteachercontinuouslycorrectsmygrammar.(Incorrect-shewouldneverhavetimetoteachifthisweretrue)Myteachercontinuallycorrectsmygrammar.(Correct-shecorrectsyourgrammarfromtimetotime) Theteenscontinuouslyatesnackswhiletheyplayedvideogames.(Incorrect-iftheyneverstoppedsnacking,theycouldn'tplayvideogames)Theteenscontinuallyatesnackswhiletheyplayedvideogames.(Correct-theycontinuedtosnackduringbreaksintheirgames) Humanbeingshavecontinuallyevolvedthroughouthistory.(Incorrect-therehavebeennobreaksinhumanevolution)Humanbeingshavecontinuouslyevolvedthroughouthistory.(Correct-humanshaveneverstoppedevolving) Trytoreplacecontinuouslyinthesesentenceswithconstantly,andreplacecontinuallywithfrequently.You'llfindthatthemeaningsstaythesame. Advertisement UsingtheAdjectiveForms:Continualvs.ContinuousWhiletheadverbscontinuallyandcontinuouslydescribeactions,theiradjectiveformscontinualandcontinuousdescribenouns.Theyhavethesamemeanings,butdifferentuses.Forexample: Yourcontinuoustappingonthedoordrivesmecrazy.Wehavecontinualargumentsaboutmoney.ThecontinuoustickingoftheclockremindedmethatIwasrunningoutoftime.Ourcarhasacontinualproblemwithoverheating.ContinualandContinuousLearningSomesayyourlearningshouldbecontinual—butwhenyoulearnthedifferencebetweencommonlyconfusedwordssuchasthese,yourlearningiscontinuous!Ifyou'rereadyformorevocabularychallenges,seeifyouknowhowtousenauseousvs.nauseatedcorrectly.Youcanalsotestyourknowledgeontheongoingdebatebetweeninfervs.imply. MaryGormandyWhite StaffWriter highschoolcollegemiddleschoolRelatedArticlesBeenvs.BeingDifferencesMadeClearAlthoughbeenandbeingsoundsimilarandcomefromthesamerootword,theyactuallymeandifferentthings.Understandingthesedifferencesandlookingatexamplescanhelpyoulearnhowtousebeenandbeinginasentencecorrectly.WhatIsanAdverb?IdentificationandUseAnadverbisapartofspeechthatprovidesgreaterdescriptiontoaverb,adjectiveoranotheradverb.Someadverbscanalsomodifyaphrase,aclauseorawholesentence.Whilemostadverbsareeasytospotbecausetheyendin-ly,othersareabittrickiertofind.Learnmoreaboutadverbsandhowthey'reusedindifferentsentences.