obedecer Imperfect Conjugation
obedecer — to obey
Obedecer is regular in the imperfect: obedecía, obedecías, obedecía, obedecíamos, obedecíais, obedecían.
obedecer Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe a habit of being obedient in the past or to set the scene (e.g., 'He used to obey').
Notes on obedecer in the Imperfect
This tense is completely regular for obedecer. All -er verbs use the -ía endings in the imperfect.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo siempre obedecía a mis padres.
As a child, I always used to obey my parents.
yo
Antes, los alumnos obedecían más.
Before, students used to obey more.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nosotros obedecíamos las leyes sin cuestionar.
We used to obey the laws without questioning.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: obedeciamos (without accent).
Correct: obedecíamos.
Why: All forms of the imperfect for -er/-ir verbs require an accent on the 'í'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: obedezco
Obedecer is mostly regular in the present, except for the 'yo' form which changes to 'obedezco'.
Preterite
yo: obedecí
Obedecer is completely regular in the preterite: obedecí, obedeciste, obedeció, obedecimos, obedecisteis, obedecieron.
Future
yo: obedeceré
Obedecer is regular in the future: just add the endings to the infinitive (obedeceré, obedecerás...).
Conditional
yo: obedecería
Obedecer is regular in the conditional: obedecería, obedecerías, obedecería, obedeceríamos, obedeceríais, obedecerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: obedezca
The present subjunctive uses the 'zc' stem for all persons: obedezca, obedezcas, obedezca, etc.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: obedeciera
Formed from the 'ellos' preterite: obedeciera, obedecieras, obedeciera, obedeciéramos, obedecierais, obedecieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: obedece
The imperative uses 'obedece' for 'tú' and 'obedezca/n' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no obedezcas
All negative commands use the 'zc' stem: no obedezcas, no obedezca, no obedezcamos, no obedezcáis, no obedezcan.