Continuously vs. Continually—What's the Difference?

The adverbs continuously and continually (and their corresponding adjectives, continuous and continual) are words that are confused easily and often. Grammarlystandswithourfriends,colleagues,andfamilyinUkraine,andwithallpeopleofUkraine.JoinusReal-timesuggestions,whereveryouwrite.GetGrammarlyIt'sFreeReal-timesuggestions,whereveryouwrite.GetGrammarlyIt'sFreeContinuouslyvs.Continually—What’stheDifference?CatherineTraffisGrammarTheadverbscontinuouslyandcontinually(andtheircorrespondingadjectives,continuousandcontinual)arewordsthatareconfusedeasilyandoften.Continuouslydescribesanactionthathappenswithoutceasing.Continually,ontheotherhand,describesanactionthatrecursfrequentlyorregularly. Theconfusionaboutwhethertousecontinuallyorcontinuouslyisunderstandable,becausebothwordssharethesameLatinroot,continuare,meaning“tojointogetherorconnect.”Onlytheendingsofthewordsaredifferent,andovertime,thetwowordshaveevolvedwithsubtlydistinctmeanings. Here’satip:Wanttomakesureyourwritingalwayslooksgreat?Grammarlycansaveyoufrommisspellings,grammaticalandpunctuationmistakes,andotherwritingissuesonallyourfavoritewebsites. Definecontinuously:thingsthatrecurnonstop Themostcommonmistakepeoplemakewhenusingthesewordsistoascribeanactionwithunintendedfrequencybyusingcontinuouslywherecontinuallyismoreappropriate.Thisresultsinanexaggerationthatwillnotescapethenoticeofaneditor. Mygrandmothercorrectsmygrammarcontinuously. Doesshe?Weallhaverelativeswhocanbeexasperatingattimes,butisitpossibleforyourgrandmothertocorrectyoucontinuously?Unlessyourgrandmotheriscapableofdeliveringrapid-firecorrectionsatyouwithincessant,Terminator-likedetermination,continualisthewordyouneedhere. Mygrandmothercorrectsmygrammarcontinually. Let’stryanotherexample. Itishardtogetawordinedgewisewithherbecauseshetalkscontinuously. Talkingisanactionthatisaccomplishedbyhumanbeings,andperhapsparrots.Forboth,itisalmostimpossibletodoitcontinuously.Ihadanauntwhocameclose;shedrewinbiggaspsbetweenanecdotessoshecouldcontinuetalkingwithoutgettinglight-headed.Butunlessaspeaker’s“giftofthegab”canmatchmyAuntKay’s,chancesaretheywilloccasionallypauseforbreathandawaityourresponses. Itishardtogetawordinedgewisewithherbecauseshetalkscontinually. Ifyouraimistounderscorethefactthataspeakertalkedforaperiodoftimeinthebroadersensebeforealarge-scaleinterruptionoccurred,thatcanmeritthewordcontinuously. ProfessorSmithlecturedcontinuously fortwentyminutes,thenhadaquestion-and-answerperiod. Definecontinually:thingsthatrecurfrequently Itisquiteeasytodecidewhethertousecontinuouslyorcontinuallyifyouremembertoaskyourself,“Didtheactioneverstop?”Somethingsdohappencontinuouslyandotherssimplydon’t.Aclockcantickcontinuously,andaheartcanbeatcontinuously.Theseactionsareautomatic.Butcanlightningstrikecontinuously,forexample? Iwastoofrightenedtosleepbecauselightningstruckcontinuously duringthenight. Notonlywouldthatbefrightening,itwouldbeapocalyptic.Youwouldawakentoacharredlandscapethatwouldbequitesoberingtobehold.Luckily,MotherNaturedoesn’tassaultuswithcontinuouslightning.Onastormynight,however,itcouldbecontinual;thatis,itcouldbehappeningoftenandregularly. Iwastoofrightenedtosleepbecauselightningstruckcontinually duringthenight. Continuousorcontinualinhistoricalcontexts Continuouslymayworkbestwhenyouarewritingaboutaphenomenonthatpersistsoveralongperiodoftimeinananthropological,historical,orgeologicalsense.Takethissentence,forexample: Becauseithasbeenusedcontinually foralmosttwothousandyears,Rome’sPantheoniswellpreserved. Theconcepthereisthatbuildingsthatneverlapseintodisusearerepairedandgenerallygiventheattentionduetothem.WhileitisnotincorrecttosaythatthePantheonwasusedcontinually(i.e.,frequently,inthesenseof“it’samazinghowRomeneversleeps”)overthelasttwothousandorsoyears,thefactthatitsusewasneverinterruptedbyaperiodofdisuseneedstobehighlighted. Becauseithasbeenusedcontinuously foralmosttwothousandyears,Rome’sPantheoniswellpreserved. Nowthatyouhaveuntangledcontinuouslyandcontinually,youmightwanttoreadaboutothercommonlyconfusedEnglishwords. Yourwriting,atitsbest.GetGrammarlyforfreeWorksonallyourfavoritewebsitesRelatedArticlesGrammarTransitiveVerbs:DefinitionandExamplesGrammarLinkingVerbs:DefinitionandExamplesGrammarWhatIsthePresentPerfectTense?GrammarWhatAreModifiers?HowtoUseThemCorrectly,withExamplesGrammarWhatIsaPredicate,andHowDoesItWork?GrammarWhatIsaParticiple?DefinitionandExamplesWriting,grammar,andcommunicationtipsforyourinbox.subscribeYouhavebeensuccessfullysubscribedtotheGrammarlyblog.Writewithconfidence.Getreal-timesuggestionswhereveryouwrite.GetGrammarlyIt'sFree“Grammarlyquicklyandeasilymakesyourwritingbetter.”—Forbes