Ludmila
I called him but he didn't call me back/ but he hasn't called me back. Which phrase is correct?
Jul 26, 2019 11:11 PM
Answers · 6
1
Some other options are: "I called him but he has not returned my call". Or "I called him but he hasn't returned my call yet".
July 27, 2019
1
Both are correct, but it depends on the context. "He hasn't called me back" implies that he might still call you back. It sounds like you're still waiting. Maybe he'll call in a few minutes, or tomorrow. He hasn't called back /yet/. For example, if you invited your friend to go to a concert with you, and the concert is starting soon, but you still haven't gotten a call from your friend, you might say, "I don't know if he's coming. He hasn't called me back." The concert hasn't started yet, so maybe he'll call back in a few minutes and tell you that he's on his way. "He didn't call me back" means that he never called back, and you're not waiting for him to call now. For example, if you invited him to go to dinner, but it's now past dinnertime and you ended up eating dinner without him, you can say "he never called me back." If you called him yesterday and he said "I'll call back this afternoon," but he didn't call in the afternoon, and now it's the next day, you can say "He didn't call me back."
July 26, 2019
I did not understand
July 26, 2019
Both, really! "he hasn't called me back" is more grammatically correct, but I have heard many native English speakers use either.
July 26, 2019
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