---
title: continual — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «continual» in the school dictionary: Continual means happening again and again, often in an annoying way, with short breaks in between. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# continual

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Continual, continuous, teacher, continual questions, little brother, continual rain · **What happens:** mean, happen, go, stop, be, drive · **To what, where:** annoying way, better word, me, continual attention, good swimmer, her

<!-- .vabout -->
«continual» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [continual in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/continual.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Continual means happening again and again, often in an annoying way, with short breaks in between.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:m1:1
# text = Continual means happening again and again, often in an annoying way, with short breaks in between.
1	Continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	happening	happen	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	again	again	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	again	again	ADV	RB	_	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	often	often	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	annoying	annoying	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	breaks	break	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	nmod	_	_
18	between	between	ADP	IN	_	17	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Continual |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **happen** *not said to happen* | gerund | Continual *not said here* |  |  | a annoying way | again | with short breaks | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in way=Location |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Continual can also mean going on all the time without stopping, though «continuous» is the better word for that.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:m2:1
# text = Continual can also mean going on all the time without stopping, though «continuous» is the better word for that.
1	Continual	Continual	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	going	go	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	xcomp	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	9	det:predet	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
10	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	stopping	stop	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
13	though	though	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
14	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	continuous	continuous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
17	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	20	amod	_	_
20	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	parataxis	_	_
21	for	for	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	20	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Continual |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **go** *not said to happen* | gerund | Continual *not said here* |  |  |  | time |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **stop** | gerund | Continual *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 4 | **is a** | present | continuous | the better word |  |  |  | for that | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher was tired of the continual chatter at the back of the class.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x1:1
# text = The teacher was tired of the continual chatter at the back of the class.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	chatter	chatter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  | of the continual chatter at the back of the class; tired *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My little brother's continual questions drove me mad on the long car trip.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x2:1
# text = My little brother's continual questions drove me mad on the long car trip.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	drove	drive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	mad	mad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
12	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
13	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drive** | past | My little brother's continual questions | me |  |  |  | mad *property* | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Theme |
| 2 | **question** |  | My little brother |  |  |  |  |  | nom question «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was continual rain all week in Ireland.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x3:1
# text = There was continual rain all week in Ireland.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
5	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	det	_	_
6	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | continual rain |  |  | there | week |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The puppy needs continual attention while it is small.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x4:1
# text = The puppy needs continual attention while it is small.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	puppy	puppy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	attention	attention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **need** | present | the puppy | continual attention |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot attention=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present | puppy |  |  |  |  | small *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Continual practice made her a good swimmer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x5:1
# text = Continual practice made her a good swimmer.
1	Continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	swimmer	swimmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | Continual practice | a good swimmer | her *= she* |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP NP»: agent=Asset she=Beneficiary swimmer=Product |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old car had continual problems with its engine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x6:1
# text = The old car had continual problems with its engine.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	problems	problem	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	engine	engine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the old car | continual problems |  |  |  | with car's engine | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent problem=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Their continual arguing spoiled the picnic.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x7:1
# text = Their continual arguing spoiled the picnic.
1	Their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	arguing	arguing	NOUN	NN	_	4	nsubj	_	_
4	spoiled	spoil	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	picnic	picnic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spoil** | past | Their continual arguing | the picnic |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The heavens were lighted up with continual flashes, and peal after peal of thunder rolled.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:continual:x8:1
# text = The heavens were lighted up with continual flashes, and peal after peal of thunder rolled.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	heavens	heaven	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	lighted	light	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	up	up	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	continual	continual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	flashes	flash	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
11	peal	peal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	after	after	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	peal	peal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	thunder	thunder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
16	rolled	roll	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **light up** | past · passive |  | the heavens |  |  |  | with continual flashes | vn preparing-26.3-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Product with flash=Material |
| 2 | **roll** | participle · passive |  | peal after peal of thunder |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Agent |
| 3 | **peal** |  | thunder |  |  |  |  |  | nom peal «event intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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