続く vs 続ける
JLPT N4 vocabulary · what is the difference?
English uses "continue" for both, so go by the particle: 続く (つづく) means something goes on by itself and takes が — 雨が続いています, the rain keeps on. 続ける (つづける) means a person keeps something going and it takes を — 勉強を続けます, I keep studying. That が/を split is the general rule for Japanese intransitive/transitive pairs.
When to use each
続く
つづく
Use 続く when a situation, a spell of weather, a road or a story goes on without anyone driving it. The thing continuing takes が, and durations are often marked with も for emphasis.
暑い日が続いています。
あついひがつづいています。
Hot days have been going on.
会議は三時間も続きました。
かいぎはさんじかんもつづきました。
The meeting went on for three whole hours.
続ける
つづける
Use 続ける when a person keeps an activity up. The activity takes を. It also attaches to a verb stem — 走り続ける, 話し続ける — to mean "keep on doing".
毎日日本語の勉強を続けています。
まいにちにほんごのべんきょうをつづけています。
I keep studying Japanese every day.
疲れても最後まで続けたいです。
つかれてもさいごまでつづけたいです。
Even if I get tired, I want to keep going to the end.
Sentences where only one works
雨が続いています。
あめがつづいています。
The rain has been going on.
Nobody makes rain continue, so it can only be 続く with が.
練習を続けています。
れんしゅうをつづけています。
I'm keeping up my practice.
練習 takes を because you are the one keeping it going, which forces 続ける.
話が続きませんでした。
はなしがつづきませんでした。
The conversation didn't keep going.
The conversation died on its own, so が続く. Compare 話を続けました, "I carried on talking".
この道はずっと海まで続いています。
このみちはずっとうみまでつづいています。
This road goes all the way to the sea.
続く also covers things extending in space. There is no doer, so 続ける is impossible here.
Common mistakes
勉強が続けます。
勉強を続けます。
If you are keeping the studying up, it takes を. が with 続ける is ungrammatical; 勉強が続く would mean the studying carries on by itself.
雨を続けています。
雨が続いています。
Nobody can act on the rain, so it takes が with 続く.
仕事を続いています。
仕事を続けています。 / 仕事が続いています。
続く never takes an を object. Use を続ける if you are staying in the job, が続く if the work simply keeps coming.
Frequently asked questions
They both mean "continue" — how do I choose?
Check whether a person keeps it going. If someone is doing it, the activity takes を and you use 続ける. If it just carries on, it takes が and you use 続く. The English cannot tell you; the particle can.
What is the difference between 走り続ける and 走っている?
走り続ける stresses that you keep going without stopping, often against some difficulty. 走っている just says you are running now. Verb stem plus 続ける is very common: 食べ続ける, 待ち続ける.
Which one goes at the end of a story instalment?
続く. You see 続く on a screen or page for "to be continued" — the story goes on by itself, with no doer involved.