Basic Details
Word: Continuous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Going on without any break or stop, or stretching without a gap.
Synonyms: unbroken, nonstop, constant, uninterrupted
Antonyms: intermittent, broken, irregular
How to Spell Continuous
Syllables: con - tin - u - ous
Tricky part: There is a u before ous that students often skip, giving continous. The word is continue minus its e, plus ous.
Watch out for: continous, continuos, contineous
Memory tip: Say it slowly as four beats, con-tin-u-ous. That third beat, u, is the letter that most people forget to write.
Usage Examples
Example 1: We heard the continuous hum of the generator all night.
Example 2: A continuous line of ants marched across the kitchen floor.
Example 3: The highway has a continuous white line down the middle.
Fun Fact
In grammar, the present continuous tense, as in I am reading, describes an action that is still going on.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is not. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. enormous 2. tremendous 3. dangerous 4. continous
a) extremely large
b) likely to cause harm or injury
c) going on without a break
d) very great in amount or power
Show answer
c) going on without a break. Continous is the wrong one: it needs a u before ous, unlike dangerous and enormous.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to continuous as used in the sentence:
Mumbai had continuous rain for three days, and the trains stopped running in many places.
a) steady
b) constant
c) intermittent
d) heavy
Show answer
c) intermittent. Continuous rain never stops; intermittent rain comes and goes.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A tsnooucinu queue of trucks crawled up the ghat road behind the broken-down bus.
a) continuous
b) continual
c) contiguous
d) conscious
Show answer
a) continuous. Count the u's: the jumble has two, as continuous does; contiguous needs a g, and continual and conscious need letters that are not there.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a continuous sound?
a) a knock at the door
b) the steady hum of a fridge
c) a dog's short bark
d) a single clap
Show answer
b) the steady hum of a fridge
2. Continuous is formed from which verb?
a) contain
b) consist
c) contest
d) continue
Show answer
d) continue
