Grammar fix
maintain contact
stay in touch
to keep communicating with someone regularly, especially over a period of time.
collocationB1occasional
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- After graduating, I tried hard to maintain contact with my university friends.communication
- In my opinion, it's important to maintain contact with family members who live abroad, as it helps strengthen relationships despite the distance.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: maintain contact (with someone)
WrongThey maintained contact during years.
RightThey maintained contact over the years.
'Over the years', not 'during years'.
Patternmaintain contact (with someone)
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Maintain contact' is fine in formal writing, but in speech natives say 'stay in touch'; 'preserve communicative relations' is jargon.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
maintain contact (with)withregularover the yearslose
Don't confuse it
Similar to 'stay in touch,' but 'maintain contact' is a bit more formal and often used in work or study situations.