Get back to VS Respond

Get back to someone typically means to reply or follow up/continue with something someone said or was doing prior in conversation/meeting/phone call/e-mail/etc.


✅ Can I get back to you about/on that tomorrow? I'm a little busy at the moment.
✅ Did you get back to the client yesterday? I know he was waiting to hear from you.
✅ If you're finished, can I get back to what I was doing?

Common Mistake

❌ I will get back to my hometown tomorrow.
In this example, hometown isn't an action, nor is it something someone said. So, here's what we could say in this instance:
✅ I will go back to my hometown tomorrow. After the holiday, I'll get back to working on my project.



Respond on the other hand, tends to be more of an "answer" or "reaction".
For example:


✅ Did he respond to our e-mail yet? - Unfortunately, we didn't get a response from him.
✅ I said hello, but he didn't respond, he seemed to be too focused on his own thoughts.
✅ Please respond to this e-mail by 5 PM.
✅ Steven lost his temper during the meeting. The boss responded by making him leave the room.

Common Mistake

❌ We respond to what our client said in the meeting today by phone.
❌ It's crucial that we can feedback the issue to our clients in time. (more on that here....)