Agobiar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

agobiar means “to overwhelm, to burden” in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Agobiar means to overwhelm or to burden, to make someone feel they have too much to do or to bear. It is used for work, heat, noise and worries, and it is fully regular. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of agobiar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the agobiar present tense page.

agobiar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present tense

  1. Yo agobio con tanto trabajo. — “I overwhelm with so much work.”
  2. Él agobia a su madre con preguntas. — “He overwhelms his mother with questions.”
  3. Nosotros agobiamos con el calor del verano. — “We overwhelm with the summer heat.”
  4. Ellos agobian a los estudiantes con exámenes. — “They overwhelm the students with exams.”

In the past

  1. Ayer, yo agobié a su madre con preguntas. — “Yesterday, I overwhelmed his mother with questions.”
  2. Antes, nosotros agobiábamos con el calor del verano. — “Before, we used to overwhelm with the summer heat.”
  3. Él agobió a los estudiantes con exámenes. — “He overwhelmed the students with exams.”
  4. Yo ya había agobiado con tanto trabajo antes de salir. — “I had already overwhelmed with so much work before leaving.”

Plans, hopes and possibilities

  1. Mañana, tú agobiarás con tanto trabajo. — “Tomorrow, you will overwhelm with so much work.”
  2. Yo agobiaría a su madre con preguntas si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would overwhelm his mother with questions if I had more time.”
  3. Él ha agobiado con el calor del verano. — “He has overwhelmed with the summer heat.”
  4. Espero que él agobie a los estudiantes con exámenes. — “I hope he overwhelms the students with exams.”

agobiar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use agobiar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about their day.

  • Ana: Yo agobio con tanto trabajo. — “I overwhelm with so much work.”
  • Bea: Él agobia a su madre con preguntas. — “He overwhelms his mother with questions.”
  • Ana: Ayer, yo agobié a su madre con preguntas. — “Yesterday, I overwhelmed his mother with questions.”
  • Bea: Mañana, tú agobiarás con tanto trabajo. — “Tomorrow, you will overwhelm with so much work.”

At home, talking about tomorrow.

  • Luis: Nosotros agobiamos con el calor del verano. — “We overwhelm with the summer heat.”
  • Marta: Antes, nosotros agobiábamos con el calor del verano. — “Before, we used to overwhelm with the summer heat.”
  • Luis: Yo agobiaría a su madre con preguntas si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would overwhelm his mother with questions if I had more time.”
  • Marta: Espero que él agobie a los estudiantes con exámenes. — “I hope he overwhelms the students with exams.”

A short scene with agobiar

A short scene shows how agobiar works across the day. In the morning: Agobio con tanto trabajo. In the afternoon: Agobia a su madre con preguntas. Yesterday it was different: Ayer, agobié con el calor del verano. And tomorrow: Mañana, agobiaré a los estudiantes con exámenes. Four small moments, four tenses, one verb — that is how agobiar sounds in real life. Try changing the person in each sentence: say it about yourself, about a friend, and about your family, and the forms will start to feel automatic.

Common mistakes with agobiar

The errors learners actually make with agobiar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ Yo agobia con tanto trabajo.

✓ Correct: Yo agobio con tanto trabajo.

The person matters: agobia is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is agobio. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.

✗ Ayer yo agobio a su madre con preguntas.

✓ Correct: Ayer yo agobié a su madre con preguntas.

The present and the preterite are different tenses: agobio is happening now, while agobié is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.

✗ Treating agobiar and estresar as identical in every context.

✓ Correct: Agobiar means to overwhelm, to burden, while estresar means to stress someone.

They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: agobiar fits sentences such as Agobio con tanto trabajo, while estresar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.

✗ Yo soy agobiado a su madre con preguntas.

✓ Correct: Yo he agobiado a su madre con preguntas.

Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he agobiado, has agobiado, ha agobiado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

✗ De niño, yo agobié con el calor del verano todos los días.

✓ Correct: De niño, yo agobiaba con el calor del verano todos los días.

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (agobiaba), not the preterite. The preterite (agobié) is for one finished action.

Quiz: agobiar in use

Ten questions on agobiar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su madre con preguntas. — “He/she overwhelms his mother with questions.”

  • a) agobia
  • b) agobio
  • c) agobias
  • d) agobiamos

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ con el calor del verano. — “Yesterday, I overwhelmed with the summer heat.”

  • a) agobiaste
  • b) agobió
  • c) agobiaron
  • d) agobié

3. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a los estudiantes con exámenes cuando eran jóvenes. — “They used to overwhelm the students with exams when they were young.”

  • a) agobiabas
  • b) agobiábamos
  • c) agobiaban
  • d) agobiaba

4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, nosotros ______ con tanto trabajo. — “Tomorrow, we will overwhelm with so much work.”

  • a) agobiarán
  • b) agobiaremos
  • c) agobiaré
  • d) agobiarás

5. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su madre con preguntas si pudiera. — “He would overwhelm his mother with questions if he could.”

  • a) agobiaría
  • b) agobiarías
  • c) agobiaríamos
  • d) agobio

6. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con el calor del verano. — “I have overwhelmed with the summer heat.”

  • a) has agobiado
  • b) ha agobiado
  • c) han agobiado
  • d) he agobiado

7. Complete the sentence: Espero que tú ______ a los estudiantes con exámenes. — “I hope you overwhelm the students with exams.”

  • a) agobiemos
  • b) agobio
  • c) agobies
  • d) agobie

8. Which is the past participle of agobiar, used with haber in the perfect tenses?

  • a) agobié
  • b) agobiado
  • c) agobiando
  • d) agobio

9. What does agobiar mean in English?

  • a) to overwhelm, to burden
  • b) to stress someone
  • c) to aggravate, to worsen
  • d) to scare away

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • a) Él agobia a su madre con preguntas.
  • b) Él agobio a su madre con preguntas.
  • c) Nosotros agobia con el calor del verano.
  • d) Yo agobia con tanto trabajo.

Answer key

  1. a) agobia — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: agobia.

  2. d) agobié — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: agobié, for one finished action yesterday.

  3. c) agobiaban — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas form in the imperfect: agobiaban, for a repeated past habit.

  4. b) agobiaremos — The sentence needs the nosotros form in the future: agobiaremos.

  5. a) agobiaría — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional: agobiaría.

  6. d) he agobiado — The sentence needs the yo form in the present perfect: he agobiado, haber + agobiado.

  7. c) agobies — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the tú present subjunctive is agobies.

  8. b) agobiado — The past participle is agobiado: he agobiado, has agobiado, ha agobiado. The gerund agobiando is used with estar instead.

  9. a) to overwhelm, to burden — agobiar means to overwhelm, to burden. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.

  10. a) Él agobia a su madre con preguntas. — Él agobia a su madre con preguntas. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences mix up the person and the form.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use agobiar in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as Agobio con tanto trabajo and Agobia a su madre con preguntas. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between agobiar and estresar?

Agobiar means “to overwhelm, to burden”, while estresar means “to stress someone”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use agobiar when you mean “to overwhelm, to burden” and estresar when you mean “to stress someone”.

Which tense do I need most with agobiar?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use agobiar most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is agobiar formal or informal?

Agobiar is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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