[Grammar] mixed conditionals

[undi]

Please help me. i don't see what is the difference between these 2?
1. If he had taken the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
2. if he took the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
The first one is the mixed conditional. And the 2nd one is my version. Why is the first one cannot be replaced by the 2nd one. What's the difference?

 

[MASM]

Please help me. i don't see what is the difference between these 2?
1. If he had taken the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
2. if he took the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
The first one is the mixed conditional. And the 2nd one is my version. Why is the first one cannot be replaced by the 2nd one. What's the difference?

From the way I see it, the in the first sentence he has not taken the medicine and therefore he's still lying in bed.
The second one for me, means that he has not taken the medicine as prescribed (the way he should have taken them).

 

[Tdol]

Please help me. i don't see what is the difference between these 2?
1. If he had taken the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
2. if he took the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
The first one is the mixed conditional. And the 2nd one is my version. Why is the first one cannot be replaced by the 2nd one. What's the difference?

The first suggests that the time for taking the medicine has passed, while the second suggests that he is not taking it, so the first could be, for example, for a single dose he didn't take and the second for a course of pills he's not taking or taking properly.

 

[bds51]

Hello Undi,
First of all, this is a classic example which I'm sure you'll find explained somewhere in the Internet but I'll give you mine. The key words are 'as prescribed'. If you leave them out, then the meaning changes and then the previous comments are plausible.

1. If he had taken the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.
2. If he took the medicine as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in the bed.

1. The important expression here is 'as prescribed'. The implication then is he took the medicine and he finished it (3rd conditional) but not the way he was supposed to or he didn't follow the instructions correctly. The present result is that he is still sick and lying in bed.

2. Again the important expression is 'as prescribed' but the implication is he is still taking the medicine, it isn't finished but he's not following the instructions so he's taking too much or not enough or not regularly or whatever. The present result is he's still sick and lying in bed.

Therefore, the difference, as previously indicated by the other respondents, is in 1 the medication is finished and in 2 the medication is still being taken.

Now contrast the 2 examples with 'if he were taking the medication as prescribed, he wouldn't still be lying in bed'. Can / Do you see the difference in meaning between this and the other two? Is this version is easier to interpret for you?