As a writer of no small renown, I’m sometimes asked whether any rules of grammar or usage still have the power to trip me up. Just for the record, the answer is “No.”
There are, however, times when my brain isn’t quite as nimble as it used to be. Today is one of those days, and when the question as to the use of continual vs. continuous came up, I (gasp!) had to look it up.
Here’s the scoop: if the action is repeated at intervals, use continual. If it’s uninterrupted, use continuous. So: Chinese water torture is continual; Morgan’s impertinence is continuous. (Yet both, according to legend, can drive a person insane.)
