What's the difference between “plain form + とき” and “ta-form + とき“?


According to the book I'm reading, both of these sentences translate to: “I
bought a bag when I went back to my country”.

  1. 国へ帰るとき、かばんを買いました。
  2. 国へ帰ったとき、かばんを買いました。

Now the nuance, if I understand correctly, is that

  * #1 is saying that "on the way" to the country, she bought a bag. In other words, she bought the bag en route but before she arrived at her country. 
  * #2 is she arrived at her country and then bought the bag.

Is my understanding correct?




I'm Japanese. I hope to improve my English and use English more often, so I'll
answer your question.

As Darius-san wrote, 2 is ambiguous, and most Japanese think that she arrived
in her country and then bought the bag. But if I translate these sentences
without thinking well, I might do both to "I bought a bag when I went back to
my country." Given this, I come to think that this English sentence is also
ambiguous. When do you think the speaker bought a bag?

By the way, the sentence "国へ帰る時、かばんを買いました。でもやっぱり帰りませんでした" Darius-san wrote is
pretty strange. Japanese never say so.

If you say this, it is correct:

> 国に帰るためにかばんを買いました。でも、やっぱり帰りませんでした。  
>  I bought a bag to return to my country. But it turns out that I never
> actually got home.

Your first sentence necessarily implies that she got home.

My English may prevent you from understanding. Sorry.

