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I see that I hadn't noticed is commonly used by native speakers, more than the pair I didn't notice and I haven't noticed ,in the following example
People are being more careful nowadays, don't you think?
I hadn't noticed that!
Is it a rule or is it just preference? And could I use that said pair as well (didn't/haven't noticed)? Or they differ?
While the three say the same thing about the past, they say very different things about the present.
“I hadn’t noticed” means I didn’t notice that before, but I do now.
“I haven’t noticed” means I didn’t notice that before, and I still don’t.
“I didn’t notice” only refers to the past; it says nothing about the present.
I hadn't noticed generally means, "I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it"
The implication is that, before you mentioned it I hadn't noticed. Now that you have mentioned it I have noticed it (because you mentioned it)
