obedecer Present Conjugation
obedecer — to obey
Obedecer is mostly regular in the present, except for the 'yo' form which changes to 'obedezco'.
obedecer Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this to talk about current habits, general rules, or how someone usually follows instructions.
Notes on obedecer in the Present
This is a 'zc' verb. In the 'yo' form, the 'c' changes to 'zc' (obedezco) to keep the soft sound before the 'o'. All other forms are regular -er endings.
Example Sentences
Yo siempre obedezco las reglas de tráfico.
I always obey the traffic rules.
yo
El perro obedece muy bien a su dueño.
The dog obeys its owner very well.
él/ella/usted
Si no obedecen, habrá consecuencias.
If they don't obey, there will be consequences.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Yo obedeco.
Correct: Yo obedezco.
Why: Verbs ending in -ecer require the 'zc' spelling in the first person present to maintain the correct pronunciation.
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Related Tenses
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.
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.