43967
I'm new to Japanese. I have learned that 帰らなかった is the past negative of 帰る.
Later, I found 帰ってなかった which I don't know what is it.
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2017-02-28T20:12:35.193
43962
2017-03-01T23:32:45.450
2017-03-01T10:35:51.047
19813
19813
question
words godan-verbs
What are differences between 帰ってなかった and 帰らなかった
I'm not sure what you are seeking for, but I show you the difference between
the two epressions.

> 帰らなかった (action)  
>  ex:「娘は昨晩家に帰らなかった」My daughter stayed out all night.  
>  帰ってなかった (status)  
>  ex: 「今朝ベッドを見ると、娘は帰ってなかった」I found my daughter's bed empty this morning. (She
> has not returned yet.)
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2017-03-01T01:22:00.757
43963
2017-03-01T01:22:00.757
19219
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answer
The progressive forms, such as 「～ている」「～ていない」「～ていた」「～ていなかった」, can be used to
indicate an ongoing/continuous action, eg:

> 書いている (present progressive) "I am writing"  
>  書いていない (present progressive negative) "I am not writing"  
>  書いていた (past progressive) "I was writing"  
>  書いていなかった (past progressive negative) "I was not writing"

The い after the te-form verb often gets dropped in casual speech, as in 書いてる,
書いてない, 書いてた, 書いてなかった.

* * *

These progressive forms can also be used to indicate a completed action or
resultant state.

帰っている is the progressive form of 帰る. 帰っている, often contracted to 帰ってる, is
usually used to mean "have (already) returned". 帰っていない, often contracted to
帰ってない, is the negative form of 帰っている.

>   * 帰っている (present progressive) "have (already) returned / have (already)
> come back"
>   * 帰っていない* (present progressive negative) "have not returned / have not
> come back (yet)"
>

Example:

> 「もしもし。太郎さん(は)いらっしゃいますか。」 _Hello. May I speak to Taro?_  
>  -- 「まだ帰って(い)ません。」 _He has not come home yet._

* * *

Now back to your question, 帰ってなかった is a contraction of 帰って **い** なかった, and is
the negative form of 帰っていた, which is also often contracted to 帰ってた. In other
words, 帰っていなかった is the past form of 帰っていない.

>   * 帰っていた (past progressive) "had (already) returned / had (already) come
> back (at/by some point in the past)"
>   * 帰っていなかった (past progressive negative) "had not returned / had not come
> back (yet) (at/by some point in the past)"
>

Example:

> 「花子さんから電話があったとき、太郎さんはまだ帰っていなかった。」  
>  _When Hanako called, Taro had not come home yet._

* * *

*～～ていない can also mean "didn't do~~". For more, see [this thread](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/42242/9831).
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2017-03-01T02:45:27.393
43967
2017-03-01T23:32:45.450
2017-04-13T12:43:44.207
-1
9831
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answer