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I was wondering which option below works in my example:

  • They moved away a couple of years ago, but............ with each other.

a. we're still in touch
b. we still keep in touch
c. we still stay in touch

Reading the similar thread in the forum, I still think they are interchangeable in this particular case and they all mean exactly the same to me (at least here.) [Above all, this video acknowledges that they can be freely used interchangeably.]

Additionally, please let me know whether using present perfect tense sounds better to you here for all three choices.

Finally, does using "with each other" sound superfluous to you here?

1 Answer 1

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Yes, they mean the same thing. Yes, “with each other" is redundant.

EDIT: As the comment below points out, I did not address

We have still kept in touch.

Because “keeping in touch” implies a continuing process, the use of the present perfect does not make much sense to imply recent past. If that is what is intended, one way to express that thought is

We have got in touch

But we can use the present perfect for emphasis

Certainly, we still keep in touch

=

We have indeed kept in touch

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  • Thank you very much @Jeff Morrow. Just perhaps you missed "the present perfect tense" part. May I ask you to add to your answer please? That would be very informative, short and to the point answer.
    – A-friend
    Nov 24, 2020 at 0:07
  • Please see edit. Nov 24, 2020 at 0:56
  • Thank you very much Jeff. But does your explanations apply to both ["stay" and "be" in touch]?
    – A-friend
    Nov 24, 2020 at 10:07
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    "We have been in touch" has multiple possible meanings and is ambiguous out of context. The present perfect is a tricky tense in English with multiple, subtle meanings. If your native language is an Indo-European language other than English, do not try to think about its English usage in terms of the present perfect in your language. Nov 24, 2020 at 16:42

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