friend

Sir, you have changed the sentence in the affirmative, but what should I write if I say it in the negative?

Sir, allow me to mention a point, you wrote 'It has been almost a decade since I, like my other friends, have been in touch with our teacher', but I think in your answer there should be had been instead of have been.

santosh121Sir, you have changed the sentence in the affirmative, but what should I write if I say it in the negative?

Mr M's sentence tells us that the speaker and friends have not been in touch with their teacher.

'have been' or 'had been' what should I use?

santosh121have been' or 'had been' what should I use?

Your meaning is unclear. You will have to explain the past and present situations more precisely for us.

santosh121I asked that in reference to 'It has been almost a decade since I, like my other friends, have been in touch with our teacher.'

That doesn't explain what you were trying to say. That is simply the corrected sentence I gave you, with which you seem to be unhappy for some unexplained reason. Please explain your reason.

I think had been should be used instead of have been.

Then why did you not use it in the first place? Both verb forms are possible—but they mean different things. And since you seem reluctant to be helpful at all in explaining what you want to say, I will waste no more time here.