He was very angry because not one of . . . .

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1
  1. He was very angry because not one of his friends [color=red]wished him a happy birthday.
  2. He was very angry because not one of his friends [color=green]had wished him a happy birthday.

Source: school exam

Hi,
Why can’t “wished” work? Maybe the act of “wishing” and getting angry happened at the same time. So, according to this analysis can’t we say “wished” is also correct?

Some native English speakers say that “wished” is also correct. I don’t know why they say this. Because logically his anger must have come after the (not) wishing.

Any guidance about “wished”?

Thank you.

2

I see the distinctions as follows:

  1. It was his birthday, and none of his friends wished him… (= no one phoned or sent a greeting card so far). His birthday is still on and possibly they’ll remember about him.
    2)His birthday gone, no one had wished… You can’t improve the situation for it’s all in the past.
3

But don’t you think that “wished” is wrong because logically his anger must have come after the (not) wishing?

How do you interpret “wished” in #1 that it works for you?

Thanks for answering but I still have not understand that in what time sequence “wished” is used.

  1. He was very angry because not one of his friends [color=red]wished him a happy birthday.

  2. He was very angry because not one of his friends [color=green]had wished him a happy birthday.
    [color=brown]Monday was his birthday ==> Tuesday he was angry ==> Because his friends hadn’t wished him a happy birthday on Monday. (Today is Wednesday.)

Look at my brown analysis for #2. I understand #2 very well by the brown analysis. Could you please write the brown like analysis for sentence #1 so that I can understand it better?

Thank you.

4

–I think I’ve already given my explanation of how 1) works for me: the narrator is describing the birthday boy’s mood when he received no birthday wishes on the occasion from his friends. He was angry on that day (let it be Monday).

  1. doesn’t explain how the situation unfolded: we don’t know whether they changed their minds and congratulated him belatedly or totally ignored him. In my view, 1) simply describes his state of mind on that particular day (Monday). Full stop.
    Unlike 1), 2) is quite straightforward: he didn’t receive any birthday wishes either on Monday or any other day. None. That’s why he was angry (not Monday—Monday’s already gone).

That’s how I look at it. Someone might see it differently.