Python Continue Statement

What You'll Learn

In this tutorial, you'll learn the basics of the continue statement in Python, how to use it in loops, and how it helps manage loop control more effectively.

Understanding the continue Statement

The continue statement is used to skip the current iteration of a loop and move to the next one. Unlike break, which exits the loop entirely, continue only skips the current iteration, allowing the loop to continue running.

# Example of continue statement with a list
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
for number in numbers:
    if number % 2 == 0:
        continue  # Skip even numbers
    print(number)  # This will print odd numbers only

# Example of continue statement with a list
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
for number in numbers:
    if number % 2 == 0:
        continue  # Skip even numbers
    print(number)  # This will print odd numbers only

In the example above, the loop will print only the odd numbers. When an even number is encountered, the continue statement is executed, skipping the print statement for that iteration.

Output:

1
3
5
7

1
3
5
7

Example 1: Skipping even numbers with a for loop

You can use continue in a for loop to skip certain iterations based on a condition. Here's an example:

# Skipping even numbers
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
for number in numbers:
    if number % 2 == 0:
        continue  # Skip even numbers
    print(number)  # Print odd numbers only

# Skipping even numbers
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
for number in numbers:
    if number % 2 == 0:
        continue  # Skip even numbers
    print(number)  # Print odd numbers only

How It Works:

• for number in numbers:: This starts a loop that will go through each item in the numbers list.
• if number % 2 == 0:: The loop checks if the number is even.
• continue: Skips the current iteration when the condition is true (even number).
• So, the loop prints only the odd numbers.

Output

1
3
5

1
3
5

Example 2: Skipping negative numbers with a while loop

You can also use continue in a while loop to skip negative numbers and only print positive ones. Here's an example:

# Skipping negative numbers
i = -5
while i <= 5:
    if i < 0:
        i += 1
        continue  # Skip negative numbers
    print(i)
    i += 1

# Skipping negative numbers
i = -5
while i <= 5:
    if i < 0:
        i += 1
        continue  # Skip negative numbers
    print(i)
    i += 1

How It Works:

• while i <= 5:: This starts a loop that will run while i is less than or equal to 5.
• if i < 0:: The loop checks if i is negative.
• continue: Skips the current iteration when i is negative.
• The loop prints numbers from 0 to 5, skipping negative numbers.

Output

0
1
2
3
4
5

0
1
2
3
4
5

Example 3: Skipping vowels in a string with a for loop

You can use continue to skip over vowels while iterating through a string. Here's an example:

# Skipping vowels in a string
word = "programming"
for letter in word:
    if letter in 'aeiou':
        continue  # Skip vowels
    print(letter, end='')

# Skipping vowels in a string
word = "programming"
for letter in word:
    if letter in 'aeiou':
        continue  # Skip vowels
    print(letter, end='')

How It Works:

• for letter in word:: This starts a loop that will iterate through each character in the word "programming".
• if letter in 'aeiou':: The loop checks if the current letter is a vowel.
• continue: Skips the current iteration when the letter is a vowel.
• The loop prints the word "prgrmmng", skipping the vowels.

Output

prgrmmng

prgrmmng

Exercises

Try out the following exercises to practice using the continue statement:

# Exercise 1: Skip 5 and 7
for i in range(1, 11):
    if i == 5 or i == 7:
        continue
    print(i)

# Exercise 1: Skip 5 and 7
for i in range(1, 11):
    if i == 5 or i == 7:
        continue
    print(i)

# Exercise: Skip numbers divisible by 3
while True:
    user_input = input("Enter a number (or 'exit' to quit): ")
    if user_input == 'exit':
        break
    num = int(user_input)
    if num % 3 == 0:
        continue
    print(f"You entered: {num}")

# Exercise: Skip numbers divisible by 3
while True:
    user_input = input("Enter a number (or 'exit' to quit): ")
    if user_input == 'exit':
        break
    num = int(user_input)
    if num % 3 == 0:
        continue
    print(f"You entered: {num}")

# Exercise: Skip the letter 'a'
text = "banana"
for char in text:
    if char == 'a':
        continue
    print(char)

# Exercise: Skip the letter 'a'
text = "banana"
for char in text:
    if char == 'a':
        continue
    print(char)

*Tip: Experiment with different conditions and see how continue helps you control the flow of your loops!

Frequently Asked Questions

What's Next?

Next, you'll learn about using the else clause with loops in Python. This unique feature lets you execute a block of code once a loop finishes normally—without being interrupted by a break statement. You'll see how it works with both for and while loops to write more precise and controlled logic.