continuar

Continuar is a Spanish verb meaning to continue, to carry on, to resume after an interruption, or to prolong a process or movement. It is used transitively or intransitively with infinitives, gerunds, or nouns, and appears in many tenses and moods. In practical use, it often pairs with con to indicate continuation with a given matter: continuar con...

Etymology: from Latin continuare, from continuus meaning unbroken; cognates include Portuguese continuar, Italian continuare, and French continuer, reflecting a common Romance root.

Usage notes: continuar emphasizes the ongoing nature after a pause; contrast with seguir, which stresses succession or continued action as part of a sequence. The phrase continuar con can mean to proceed with a task. Example: "Voy a continuar trabajando" and "Continúas leyendo a pesar del ruido."

Conjugation overview: as a regular -ar verb with stem continu-, it forms continúo in the first-person singular present, with accents: continúas, continúa, continuamos, continuáis, continúan. Other forms include pretérito "continué, continuaste, continuó, continuamos, continuasteis, continuaron"; imperfect "continuaba, continuabas, continuaba, continuábamos, continuabais, continuaban"; future "continuaré, continuarás, continuará, continuaremos, continuaréis, continuarán"; subjunctive present "continúe, continúes, continúe, continuemos, continuéis, continúen." The participle is "continuado" and the gerund "continuando."