Meaning & use
keep in touch
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
To continue to communicate with someone by calling, writing or messaging, especially after you have moved apart.
Grammar: No direct object; use with for the other person: keep in touch with Maria. Past tense is kept in touch.
Patterns
- keep in touch with someone
- keep in touch by something
We moved to different cities, but we keep in touch by video call every Sunday.
Please keep in touch while you are studying abroad.
She kept in touch with her old teacher for years.
phrasephrasal verb
To stay informed about the latest news or developments in a subject or area.
Grammar: Often used with with and a subject: keep in touch with developments.
Patterns
- keep in touch with something
Reading the news helps me keep in touch with what is happening at home.
Managers need to keep in touch with changes in the market.
Word forms
| third person singular | keeps in touch |
|---|---|
| past tense | kept in touch |
| past participle | kept in touch |
| -ing form | keeping in touch |
Common combinations
- keep in touch with old friends
- Social media makes it easy to keep in touch with old friends.
- promise to keep in touch
- They promised to keep in touch after graduation.
- keep in touch by email
- We keep in touch by email since she moved to Japan.
- find it hard to keep in touch
- I find it hard to keep in touch when everyone is so busy.
- stay in touch
- It is nice to stay in touch with former colleagues.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stay in contact
- Stay in contact is more neutral and a little more formal, while keep in touch sounds warmer and more personal.
- correspond
- Correspond suggests exchanging letters or messages, usually in a formal or written setting, and is less casual than keep in touch.
- stay in touch
- Stay in touch means almost the same thing and is equally common, with no real difference.
Opposites
Word family
- touch noun
- communication or contact with someone
- get in touch phrase
- to contact someone
- lose touch phrase
- to stop communicating with someone
- in touch adjective
- in communication or well informed
Commonly confused: keep in touch or get in touch?
keep in touch vs get in touch
Get in touch means to contact someone, often for the first time; keep in touch means to continue contact over time.
Practice
We have lived in different countries for ten years, but we still ____ by phone.
Choose one answer.
Keep in touch is the fixed phrase meaning to continue communicating. The other options combine the words in ways native speakers do not use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “keep in touch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.