Inklingo
A child being gently but firmly guided by their parent's hand towards a bowl of broccoli on a table.

obligar

to force

Complete conjugation tables and interactive practice exercises. This is a spelling change in certain forms -ar verb.

The Spanish verb obligar means to force.

Present tense:

yoobligo
obligas
él/ella/ustedobliga
nosotrosobligamos
vosotrosobligáis
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligan

Complete Conjugation Tables

Reference all tenses and moods

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

present

yoobligue
nosotrosobliguemos
vosotrosobliguéis
él/ella/ustedobligue
ellos/ellas/ustedesobliguen
obligues

The present subjunctive of obligar requires a spelling change (g to gu) to keep the hard 'g' sound: obligue, obligues, obligue, obliguemos, obliguéis, obliguen.

Forms, examples & usage →

imperfect

yoobligara
nosotrosobligáramos
vosotrosobligarais
él/ella/ustedobligara
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligaran
obligaras

The imperfect subjunctive of obligar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: obligara, obligaras, obligara, obligáramos, obligarais, obligaran.

Forms, examples & usage →

imperative

affirmative

obliga
nosotrosobliguemos
ustedobligue
vosotrosobligad
ustedesobliguen

The imperative of obligar uses standard -ar endings, with a spelling change in formal and plural forms: obliga, obligue, obliguemos, obligad, obliguen.

Forms, examples & usage →

negative

no obligues
nosotrosno obliguemos
ustedno obligue
vosotrosno obliguéis
ustedesno obliguen

The negative imperative of obligar uses the present subjunctive forms: no obligues, no obligue, no obliguemos, no obliguéis, no obliguen.

Forms, examples & usage →

indicative

present

yoobligo
nosotrosobligamos
vosotrosobligáis
él/ella/ustedobliga
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligan
obligas

The present tense of obligar is regular: obligo, obligas, obliga, obligamos, obligáis, obligan.

Forms, examples & usage →

preterite

yoobligué
nosotrosobligamos
vosotrosobligasteis
él/ella/ustedobligó
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligaron
obligaste

The preterite of obligar has a spelling change only in the 'yo' form: obligué, obligaste, obligó, obligamos, obligasteis, obligaron.

Forms, examples & usage →

future

yoobligaré
nosotrosobligaremos
vosotrosobligaréis
él/ella/ustedobligará
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligarán
obligarás

The future of obligar is regular, adding endings to the infinitive: obligaré, obligarás, obligará, obligaremos, obligaréis, obligarán.

Forms, examples & usage →

imperfect

yoobligaba
nosotrosobligábamos
vosotrosobligabais
él/ella/ustedobligaba
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligaban
obligabas

The imperfect of obligar is regular for -ar verbs: obligaba, obligabas, obligaba, obligábamos, obligabais, obligaban.

Forms, examples & usage →

conditional

yoobligaría
nosotrosobligaríamos
vosotrosobligaríais
él/ella/ustedobligaría
ellos/ellas/ustedesobligarían
obligarías

The conditional of obligar is regular: obligaría, obligarías, obligaría, obligaríamos, obligaríais, obligarían.

Forms, examples & usage →

Practice Conjugations

Test your knowledge with interactive exercises

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Take obligar from tables to real Spanish

Conjugation tables are the start. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see 'obligar' in action across real sentences — and build the instinct that native speakers have.