obedecer Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
obedecer — to obey
Formed from the 'ellos' preterite: obedeciera, obedecieras, obedeciera, obedeciéramos, obedecierais, obedecieran.
obedecer Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations in the past or after 'if' statements (e.g., 'If I obeyed...').
Notes on obedecer in the Imperfect Subjunctive
It follows the regular pattern for -er verbs in the imperfect subjunctive. No 'zc' here!
Example Sentences
Si obedecieras más, no tendrías problemas.
If you obeyed more, you wouldn't have problems.
tú
Me gustaría que nos obedecieran.
I would like them to obey us.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Fue una pena que no obedeciera las órdenes.
It was a pity that he didn't obey the orders.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: obedezciera.
Correct: obedeciera.
Why: Learners often try to put the 'zc' from the present tense into the past subjunctive, but this tense only uses the preterite stem.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: obedecía
Obedecer is regular in the imperfect: obedecía, obedecías, obedecía, obedecíamos, obedecíais, obedecían.
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.
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.