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How to conjugate Obedecer in Spanish

obedecer to obey Irregular Verb

At a glance: Obedecer (to obey) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: obedezco, obedeces, obedece, obedecemos, obedecéis, obedecen. Yo adds a z (obedezco); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (obedezca).

Past participle
obedecido obeyed
Gerund
obedeciendo obeying
Similar
atenerse, someterse
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Indicative tenses of Obedecer

Obedecer in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of obedecer is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “obedezco”, meaning “I obey”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedezcoI obey
Túobedecesyou obey
Ella / Él / Ustedobedeces/he obeys
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedecemoswe obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedecéisyou (plural) obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedecenthey obey

How it’s built: Yo adds a z (obedezco); the other forms are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of obedecer is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “obedecí”, meaning “I obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedecíI obeyed
Túobedecisteyou obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedobedeciós/he obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedecimoswe obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedecisteisyou (plural) obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedecieronthey obeyed

How it’s built: Regular: stem obedec- plus the -er endings.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of obedecer is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “obedecía”, meaning “I used to obey”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedecíaI used to obey
Túobedecíasyou used to obey
Ella / Él / Ustedobedecías/he used to obey
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedecíamoswe used to obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedecíaisyou (plural) used to obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedecíanthey used to obey

How it’s built: Regular: stem obedec- plus the -er endings.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of obedecer is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy obedeciendo”, meaning “I am obeying”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy obedeciendoI am obeying
Túestás obedeciendoyou are obeying
Ella / Él / Ustedestá obedeciendos/he is obeying
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos obedeciendowe are obeying
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis obedeciendoyou (plural) are obeying
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán obedeciendothey are obeying

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund obedeciendo.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of obedecer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a obedecer”, meaning “I am going to obey”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a obedecerI am going to obey
Túvas a obedeceryou are going to obey
Ella / Él / Ustedva a obedecers/he is going to obey
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a obedecerwe are going to obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a obedeceryou (plural) are going to obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a obedecerthey are going to obey

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive obedecer.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of obedecer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “obedeceré”, meaning “I will obey”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedeceréI will obey
Túobedecerásyou will obey
Ella / Él / Ustedobedecerás/he will obey
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedeceremoswe will obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedeceréisyou (plural) will obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedeceránthey will obey

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive obedecer plus the future endings.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of obedecer is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “obedecería”, meaning “I would obey”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedeceríaI would obey
Túobedeceríasyou would obey
Ella / Él / Ustedobedecerías/he would obey
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedeceríamoswe would obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedeceríaisyou (plural) would obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedeceríanthey would obey

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive obedecer plus the conditional endings.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of obedecer is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he obedecido”, meaning “I have obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe obedecidoI have obeyed
Túhas obedecidoyou have obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedha obedecidos/he has obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos obedecidowe have obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis obedecidoyou (plural) have obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan obedecidothey have obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of obedecer is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había obedecido”, meaning “I had obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía obedecidoI had obeyed
Túhabías obedecidoyou had obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía obedecidos/he had obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos obedecidowe had obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais obedecidoyou (plural) had obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían obedecidothey had obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of obedecer is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré obedecido”, meaning “I will have obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré obedecidoI will have obeyed
Túhabrás obedecidoyou will have obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá obedecidos/he will have obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos obedecidowe will have obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis obedecidoyou (plural) will have obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán obedecidothey will have obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Obedecer in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of obedecer is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría obedecido”, meaning “I would have obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría obedecidoI would have obeyed
Túhabrías obedecidoyou would have obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría obedecidos/he would have obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos obedecidowe would have obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais obedecidoyou (plural) would have obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían obedecidothey would have obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Subjunctive tenses of Obedecer

Obedecer in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “obedezca”, meaning “I obey”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedezcaI obey
Túobedezcasyou obey
Ella / Él / Ustedobedezcas/he obeys
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedezcamoswe obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedezcáisyou (plural) obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedezcanthey obey

How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, obedezco (obedezca, obedezcas, obedezca, obedezcamos, obedezcáis, obedezcan).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Obedecer in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “obedeciera”, meaning “I obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedecieraI obeyed
Túobedecierasyou obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedobedecieras/he obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedeciéramoswe obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedecieraisyou (plural) obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedecieranthey obeyed

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, obedecieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (obedeciéramos).

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Obedecer in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “obedeciere”, meaning “I will obey”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoobedeciereI will obey
Túobedecieresyou will obey
Ella / Él / Ustedobedecieres/he will obey
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedeciéremoswe will obey
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedeciereisyou (plural) will obey
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedecierenthey will obey

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, obedecieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (obedeciéremos).

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Obedecer in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya obedecido”, meaning “I have obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya obedecidoI have obeyed
Túhayas obedecidoyou have obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya obedecidos/he has obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos obedecidowe have obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis obedecidoyou (plural) have obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan obedecidothey have obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Obedecer in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera obedecido”, meaning “I had obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera obedecidoI had obeyed
Túhubieras obedecidoyou had obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera obedecidos/he had obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos obedecidowe had obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais obedecidoyou (plural) had obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran obedecidothey had obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Obedecer in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere obedecido”, meaning “I will have obeyed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere obedecidoI will have obeyed
Túhubieres obedecidoyou will have obeyed
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere obedecidos/he will have obeyed
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos obedecidowe will have obeyed
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis obedecidoyou (plural) will have obeyed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren obedecidothey will have obeyed

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle obedecido.

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Imperative tenses of Obedecer

Obedecer in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “obedezca”, meaning “(to you formal) obey!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túobedece(to you) obey!
Ella / Él / Ustedobedezca(to you formal) obey!
Nosotras / Nosotrosobedezcamoslet's obey!
Vosotras / Vosotrosobedeced(to you plural) obey!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesobedezcan(to you plural formal) obey!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (obedece); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (obedezca, obedezcamos, obedezcan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (obedeced).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Obedecer in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no obedezca”, meaning “(to you formal) don't obey!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno obedezcas(to you) don't obey!
Ella / Él / Ustedno obedezca(to you formal) don't obey!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno obedezcamoslet's not obey!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno obedezcáis(to you plural) don't obey!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno obedezcan(to you plural formal) don't obey!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no obedezcas, no obedezca, no obedezcamos, no obedezcáis, no obedezcan.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Frequently asked questions about Obedecer

Is obedecer a regular or irregular verb?

Obedecer is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo adds a z (obedezco); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (obedezca).

How do you conjugate obedecer in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), obedecer is conjugated as: yo obedezco, tú obedeces, él/ella/usted obedece, nosotros obedecemos, vosotros obedecéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes obedecen. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.

How do you conjugate obedecer in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), obedecer is conjugated as: yo obedecí, tú obedeciste, él/ella/usted obedeció, nosotros obedecimos, vosotros obedecisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes obedecieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate obedecer in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), obedecer is conjugated as: yo obedecía, tú obedecías, él/ella/usted obedecía, nosotros obedecíamos, vosotros obedecíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes obedecían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate obedecer in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), obedecer is conjugated as: yo obedeceré, tú obedecerás, él/ella/usted obedecerá, nosotros obedeceremos, vosotros obedeceréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes obedecerán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate obedecer in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), obedecer is conjugated as: yo obedezca, tú obedezcas, él/ella/usted obedezca, nosotros obedezcamos, vosotros obedezcáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes obedezcan. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.


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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

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