When I got home, I realised that my dad left an hour before.

[juseruser]

Hello,

1. When I got home, I realised that my dad left an hour before.

2. When I got home, I realised that my dad had left an hour before.

Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences?

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, only #2 is correct.

 

[juseruser]

Thank you

Would the below sentences carry the meaning of this one "When I got home, I realised that my dad had left an hour before."
3. When I got home, I realised that my dad left it an hour before.
4. I realised that my dad left home an hour before when I got there.
5. I realised that my dad left home an hour before I got there.

 

[GoesStation]

Only sentence 5 is correct and conveys the meaning you're aiming for.

In sentence 3, the reader can't tell what it refers to. Sentence 4 is the same as sentence 1 with the clauses reversed and has the same tense mismatch.

 

[Barb_D]

Actually, 5 could mean that an hour before getting home, you realized it.

I'd been gone for a year. I couldn't wait to see Mom and Dad. But alas, no one had told me that Dad had left home a month ago. My sister finally told me the truth on the way home from the airport. So I realized my dad left home an hour before I got there.

 

[Raymott]

Even with the above, I'd use the past perfect. (I know that Americans don't always follow this grammar.)
"So I realized an hour before I got home that my dad had left."