Python Loop Control Statements – Break, Continue & Pass

Table of Contents

1. break Statement
2. continue Statement
3. pass Statement
4. Tasks

These statements modify the behavior of loops.

break: Terminates the loop entirely. continue: Skips the current iteration and moves to the next one. pass: Does nothing, often used as a placeholder.

1. break Statement

Exits the loop prematurely.

for item in sequence:
    if some_condition:
        break  # exit the loop

Example 1: Using Break Statement in a Loop with Range

for x in range(3):
    if x == 1:
        break
    print(x)

Example 2: Exit a loop when a number is found

# Search for the number 5 and exit the loop when found
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
 
for num in numbers:
    print(f"Checking {num}...")
    if num == 5:
        print("Number 5 found! Exiting the loop.")
        break  # Exit the loop

Output:

Checking 1...
Checking 2...
Checking 3...
Checking 4...
Checking 5...
Number 5 found! Exiting the loop.

📺 Python Tutorial in Urdu: Using Python break statement with a while loop

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Example 3: Password validation with while loop

# Keep asking for a password until the correct one is entered
correct_password = "python123"
 
while True:
    user_input = input("Enter the password: ")
    if user_input == correct_password:
        print("Access granted!")
        break  # Exit the loop
    else:
        print("Wrong password. Try again!")

Example 4: Temperature Monitoring

Stop monitoring if temperature exceeds a safe limit.

temperatures = [25, 30, 32, 28, 45, 29, 33]  # Sensor readings
 
for temp in temperatures:
    if temp > 40:
        print(f"ALERT: Temperature {temp}°C is unsafe! Shutting down.")
        break  # Exit immediately
    print(f"Temperature {temp}°C is safe.")

Output:

Temperature 25°C is safe.
Temperature 30°C is safe.
Temperature 32°C is safe.
Temperature 28°C is safe.
ALERT: Temperature 45°C is unsafe! Shutting down.

Example 5: Login system with limited attempts.

Use Case:

max_attempts = 3
correct_password = "secret123"
 
for attempt in range(1, max_attempts + 1):
    password = input(f"Attempt {attempt}: Enter password: ")
    if password != correct_password:
        print("Wrong password. Try again.")
        continue  # Skip to next attempt
    else:
        print("Login successful!")
        break  # Exit loop on success
else:
    print("Account locked. Too many failed attempts.")

Output (if user fails 3 times):

Attempt 1: Enter password: hello
Wrong password. Try again.
Attempt 2: Enter password: test
Wrong password. Try again.
Attempt 3: Enter password: 123
Wrong password. Try again.
Account locked. Too many failed attempts.

2. continue Statement

Skips the current iteration and proceeds to the next iteration of the loop.

for item in sequence:
    if some_condition:
        continue  # skip the rest of the code in this iteration
    # code to execute if some_condition is False

📺 Video Tutorial: How to Effectively Use Break and Continue Statements

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Example 6: Skip even numbers using continue Statement

Skips the current iteration and moves to the next loop cycle.

# Print only odd numbers (skip even numbers)
for num in range(1, 11):
    if num % 2 == 0:
        continue  # Skip even numbers
    print(num)

Output:

1
3
5
7
9

Example 7: Data Cleaning using continue Statement

Skip invalid entries when processing a dataset.

user_ages = [20, 15, "unknown", 30, -5, 25]  # Some invalid data
 
print("Valid ages:")
for age in user_ages:
    if not isinstance(age, int) or age < 0 or age > 120:
        continue  # Skip invalid entries
    print(f"- {age} years old")

Output:

Valid ages:
- 20 years old
- 15 years old
- 30 years old
- 25 years old

3. pass Statement

A null statement, used as a placeholder.

if condition:
    pass  # do nothing

The pass statement is often used in loops as a placeholder or to intentionally skip certain conditions without any action. Here are practical examples demonstrating pass in different loop scenarios.

Example 8: Basic pass in a for Loop

Use Case: Skip specific items without any action.

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "kiwi"]  
 
for fruit in fruits:  
    if fruit == "banana":  
        pass  # Do nothing for banana  
    else:  
        print(fruit)  

Output:

apple  
cherry  
kiwi  

Explanation:

• The loop checks if the fruit is "banana".
• If yes, pass does nothing and moves to the next iteration.
• Otherwise, it prints the fruit.

Example 9: pass vs continue in a Loop

Key Difference:

• pass → Does nothing, continues execution.
• continue → Skips the rest of the loop body and moves to the next iteration.

Example with pass

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]  
 
for num in numbers:  
    if num == 3:  
        pass  # Just a placeholder, no action  
    print(num)  # This line still runs  

Output:

1  
2  
3  
4  
5  

Example with continue

for num in numbers:  
    if num == 3:  
        continue  # Skips printing for 3  
    print(num)  

Output:

1  
2  
4  
5  

Example 10: pass in a while Loop (Placeholder Logic)

Use Case: Temporarily ignore a condition while developing.

count = 0  
 
while count < 5:  
    if count == 2:  
        pass  # Will handle this case later  
    else:  
        print(f"Count: {count}")  
    count += 1  

Output:

Count: 0  
Count: 1  
Count: 3  
Count: 4  

Explanation:

• When count == 2, pass does nothing, but the loop continues.
• All other values are printed normally.

Example 11: Using pass in Nested Loops

Use Case: Skip certain combinations in a nested loop.

for i in range(3):  
    for j in range(3):  
        if i == j:  
            pass  # Skip when i and j are equal  
        else:  
            print(f"i={i}, j={j}")  

Output:

i=0, j=1  
i=0, j=2  
i=1, j=0  
i=1, j=2  
i=2, j=0  
i=2, j=1  

Explanation:

• When i == j, pass ignores the case.
• Otherwise, it prints the combination.

When to Use pass?

✅ Placeholder for future code
✅ Intentionally doing nothing in a condition
✅ Silently ignoring exceptions

🚫 Don’t use when:

• You want to skip iterations (use continue).
• You want to exit a loop (use break).

4. Tasks

Task 1: Coffee Machine Stock Check using break Statement

Simulate a coffee machine that stops serving when a drink is out of stock.

• Input List: ["latte", "cappuccino", "espresso", "mocha", "out_of_stock", "latte"]
• Goal: Loop through the list and stop when "out_of_stock" is found.
• Example Output:

  Serving latte...  
  Serving cappuccino...  
  Serving espresso...  
  Serving mocha...  
  Out of stock! Machine stopping.  
  

Task 2: Skip Negative Numbers

Calculate the sum of positive numbers in a list, ignoring negatives.

• Input: [5, -2, 10, -8, 3]
• Goal: Use continue to skip negative values.
• Output: Sum of positive numbers: 18

Task 3: Simple Calculator with Exit using continue and break

Create a loop that:

• Lets users type numbers to add.
• Skips non-numeric inputs (use continue).
• Exits when the user types "quit" (use break).
• Example Output:

  Enter a number (or 'quit'): 5  
  Enter a number (or 'quit'): ten  
  Invalid input!  
  Enter a number (or 'quit'): 3  
  Enter a number (or 'quit'): quit  
  Total: 8  
  

Task 4: Movie Ticket Checker

Loop through a list of ages and:

• Skip ages < 0 (invalid).
• Stop if a "VIP" (age 100+) is found.
• Input: [25, -5, 30, 105, 40]
• Output:

  Valid age: 25  
  Skipped invalid age.  
  Valid age: 30  
  VIP detected! Stopping sales.  
  

Task 5: Flight Booking System

Check seat availability in a list. Stop when a seat is found, or skip "reserved" seats.

• Input: ["reserved", "reserved", "available", "reserved"]
• Output:

  Seat 1: Reserved.  
  Seat 2: Reserved.  
  Seat 3: Available! Booked successfully.  
  

📘 Related Topics

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