get in touch with/get in contact with

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Do you get in touch with the same people and things you get in contact with?

2

Hi Molly,
Do you mean the difference between ‘get in touch with’ and ‘get in contact with’?

3

Molly, I would never use the phrase “get in contact with”.

I might say things like:

  • I’ll contact you tomorrow
  • I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow
  • Let’s stay in touch
  • Let’s stay in contact (pretty rare though)

To my ear it’s rare to hear things like “I’m getting in contact with…” or “Let’s get in contact”.

4

Rather than using the construction " get in contact with", it’s more common to simply use “contact” like this:

Let’s maintain contact with blah blah
I’ll contact you; don’t contact me
If you’re gone before I can blow up the asteroid, please contact my daughter and tell her I love her.
Contact was made last night and we still don’t know what they are or where they’re from
That contact was harmless – she barely noticed me

5

I’m asking which one you use in which context and with which other words.

e.g.

I must get in/contact touch with John, I haven’t seen him for months.
You need to get in touch with/contact with your feelings.

and so on.

6

Thanks, Prez.

7

Hi Prez,

In this sentence, what does ‘contact’ mean? Does it mean the contact itself, or does it mean ‘she’ - a person who is in contact with the speaker?

Many thanks,
Nessie.