obligar Present Conjugation
obligar — to force
The present tense of obligar is regular: obligo, obligas, obliga, obligamos, obligáis, obligan.
obligar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this for current obligations, rules that apply now, or habitual actions where someone is forced into a situation.
Notes on obligar in the Present
Obligar is completely regular in the present indicative.
Example Sentences
Mi trabajo me obliga a viajar mucho.
My job forces me to travel a lot.
él/ella/usted
No obligo a nadie a quedarse.
I don't force anyone to stay.
yo
¿Por qué nos obligan a hacer esto?
Why are they forcing us to do this?
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing 'obligo' with 'obligue'.
Correct: Use 'obligo' for facts and 'obligue' for doubts or desires.
Why: Learners often mix up the indicative 'o' ending with the subjunctive 'e' ending.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: obligué
The preterite of obligar has a spelling change only in the 'yo' form: obligué, obligaste, obligó, obligamos, obligasteis, obligaron.
Imperfect
yo: obligaba
The imperfect of obligar is regular for -ar verbs: obligaba, obligabas, obligaba, obligábamos, obligabais, obligaban.
Future
yo: obligaré
The future of obligar is regular, adding endings to the infinitive: obligaré, obligarás, obligará, obligaremos, obligaréis, obligarán.
Conditional
yo: obligaría
The conditional of obligar is regular: obligaría, obligarías, obligaría, obligaríamos, obligaríais, obligarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: obligue
The present subjunctive of obligar requires a spelling change (g to gu) to keep the hard 'g' sound: obligue, obligues, obligue, obliguemos, obliguéis, obliguen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: obligara
The imperfect subjunctive of obligar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: obligara, obligaras, obligara, obligáramos, obligarais, obligaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: obliga
The imperative of obligar uses standard -ar endings, with a spelling change in formal and plural forms: obliga, obligue, obliguemos, obligad, obliguen.
Negative Imperative
yo: no obligues
The negative imperative of obligar uses the present subjunctive forms: no obligues, no obligue, no obliguemos, no obliguéis, no obliguen.