Grammar fix
maintain contact
stay in touch
to keep communicating with someone regularly, especially over a period of time.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
After graduating, I tried hard to maintain contact with my university friends.
In my opinion, it's important to maintain contact with family members who live abroad, as it helps strengthen relationships despite the distance.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: They maintained contact during years.
Say: They maintained contact over the years.
'Over the years', not 'during years'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'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)
- with
- regular
- over the years
- lose