keep tally of

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "keep tally of" is valid and usable in written English.
It is usually used to indicate the need to keep track of or record a list of items. For example, "I need to keep tally of how many items I have purchased this month."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

As workmen at the FNB stadium in Soweto continued erecting a stage and bulletproof glass to protect the VIPs attending the memorial event, government officials continued to keep tally of the number of confirmations.

Independent

Keep tally of the cast of characters involved in the story.

WikiHow

Keep tally of how many players have reached home before the amounts of predetermined times have happened.

WikiHow

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

Connecticut does not keep tallies of dead deer.

The New York Times

Whips meticulously keep tallies of every vote and assess how solid the support for a bill is — the perfect job for a detail man like Reid.

The New Yorker

Barber collected money from various special interests and kept tally of who had promised and been promised in turn.

The New York Times

It keeps tallies of the number scored in each tournament, and measures the length of every one.

The New York Times - Sports

The Border Patrol keeps tallies of those it catches who prove to have criminal records, once its computers recognize their fingerprints.

The New York Times - Magazine

Fried went on to say that unlike Cruz, or McCarthy, who infamously kept tallies of alleged subversives, he had never tried to count Communists.

The New Yorker

The composer Judith Bingham said that she keeps tallies of how many pieces by women the station plays each week, trawling through listings in the Radio Times.

The Guardian - Music

That would only be a good excuse if they kept tallies of all the numbers because all the numbers - all the animals - are evidence for federal court.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "keep tally of" when you need to meticulously record and monitor quantities or instances, especially in situations where accuracy is important. It is suitable when manually maintaining a record or a digital record.

Common error

While "keep tally of" is acceptable in many situations, in highly formal documents or presentations, consider using more sophisticated synonyms such as "maintain a record of" or "tabulate" to enhance the tone of your writing.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "keep tally of" functions as a verb phrase, indicating the action of maintaining a record or count. It signifies a deliberate effort to track specific data, as shown in Ludwig examples where officials "keep tally of" confirmations and a composer "keeps tallies" of music pieces.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

66%

Wiki

33%

Science

1%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "keep tally of" is a useful phrase for indicating the action of maintaining a record or count. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's grammatically correct and generally used in neutral contexts, particularly in news and media. While it's a common expression, it's important to be mindful of the context and consider more formal synonyms when necessary, especially in academic/scientific or business publications. The phrase is useful for quantification, documentation and progress monitoring.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

keep track of

Uses 'track' instead of 'tally', implying a more general monitoring.

keep count of

Employs 'count' instead of 'tally', focusing on numerical accumulation.

maintain a record of

More verbose, emphasizes the act of preserving information.

record

A more formal term, suitable for official documentation.

monitor

Implies continuous observation and recording of data.

log

Suggests a systematic and chronological record.

catalog

Implies an organized and detailed listing.

enumerate

A very formal and precise term for listing items.

inventory

Specifically refers to creating a list of items in stock.

tabulate

Focuses on arranging data in a table for analysis.

FAQs

What does "keep tally of" mean?

The phrase "keep tally of" means to maintain a count or record of something.

How can I use "keep tally of" in a sentence?

You might say, "I need to keep a tally of how many customers visit the store each day" or "The researcher will keep a tally of the participants' responses".

What are some alternatives to "keep tally of"?

Some alternatives include "keep track of", "record", or "keep count of" depending on the context.

Is it better to say "keep a tally of" or "keep tally of"?

Both "keep a tally of" and "keep tally of" are acceptable, but "keep a tally of" is generally more common and natural-sounding.