Continuous means unceasing or without interruption. So something that is continuous does not pause or recur. So, for example, continuous is correct in these sentences because it describes something happening ceaselessly:
Based on these findings, aboriginal Australians would represent one of the oldest continuous populations outside Africa. [Washington Post]
That furious brown water, swirling, foaming, leaping and thundering, represented for Romantics the continuous force of thought . . . [More Intelligent Life]
Continual means frequently occurring or intermittent. The continual action doesn’t happen ceaselessly, but it does happen regularly. So, for example, these writers use continual correctly:
His office reported continual talks with the Department of State on the orphans’ plight. [Post-Gazette]
Anyway, there might be a way to avoid continual battery purchases . . . [Gadgets.Tmcnet.com]
After six years of continual plot twists, flashbacks and flash forwards, fans of the mysterious drama “Lost” will begin the show’s final season . . . [The Daily Athenaeum]
Still, while drawing this distinction between continual and continuous is useful, the distinction is not always borne out in practical usage. Many writers use the words interchangeably.
