obrar Preterite Conjugation
obrar — to act
The preterite of obrar is regular: obré, obraste, obró, obramos, obrasteis, obraron, used for completed past actions.
obrar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'obrar' to talk about a specific instance or period in the past when someone acted or worked, and that action is now finished. For example, 'Ayer obró como un héroe' means 'Yesterday he acted like a hero.'
Notes on obrar in the Preterite
Obrar is regular in the preterite tense. All the forms follow the standard -ar verb conjugation pattern.
Example Sentences
Ayer obré con mucha paciencia.
Yesterday I acted with a lot of patience.
yo
¿Obraste según lo planeado?
Did you act according to the plan?
tú
Él obró de manera inesperada.
He acted in an unexpected way.
él/ella/usted
Ellos obraron correctamente en la emergencia.
They acted correctly in the emergency.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'obraba' instead of the preterite 'obró' for a single completed action.
Correct: For a specific past action, use 'obró', 'obraste', etc. 'Ayer obró bien' (He acted well yesterday).
Why: The preterite marks completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'obré'.
Correct: The correct form for 'yo' is 'obré'.
Why: The accent on the final 'é' is necessary to indicate the preterite tense for the first person singular.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: obro
The present tense of obrar is regular: obro, obras, obra, obramos, obráis, obran, used for current or habitual actions.
Imperfect
yo: obraba
The imperfect of obrar is regular: obraba, obrabas, obraba, obrábamos, obrabais, obraban, for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: obraré
The future tense of obrar is regular: obraré, obrarás, obrará, obraremos, obraréis, obrarán, for actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: obraría
The conditional of obrar is regular: obraría, obrarías, obraría, obraríamos, obraríais, obrarían, for hypotheticals and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: obre
The present subjunctive of obrar (obre, obres, obremos, obréis, obren) follows expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: obrara
The imperfect subjunctive of obrar (obrara/obrara) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: obra
Use the imperative of obrar for direct commands: obra (tú), obre (usted), obremos (nosotros), obrad (vosotros), obren (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no obres
Negative commands for obrar use the present subjunctive: no obres (tú), no obre (usted), no obremos (nosotros), no obréis (vosotros), no obren (ustedes).