continual/continuous

This pair has been confusing for a long time; consequently, people have been using them incorrectly for a long time.

It's quite simple, really. If you say, "My teacher continuously asks me to turn in my homework," you're implying that he/she asks you over and over again without stopping. That may be the case if you are, in fact, a slug who doesn't turn in your work. That's a matter for a different day.

If the intention is that it happens frequently, not necessarily uninterrupted, then the teacher is "continually" asking for your homework.

If you're a couch potato who never gets off the couch and watches TV endlessly, then your television watching is "continuous."

So let's summarize, shall we? "Continuous" occurs without stopping, but "continual" occurs at intervals but not necessarily uninterrupted.

Heck, if not for your continual errors, I wouldn't have anything to write about. Thanks.