Obedecer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of obedecer — "to obey" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for obedecer with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Obedecer means to obey, and it covers obeying parents, orders, school rules and traffic laws. It takes a direct object for the person or rule obeyed, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo obedezco. To see it in a real sentence: Él obedece a sus padres sin discutir. — "He/she obeys his parents without arguing." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: obedecer

Every person of obedecer in the present tense. The gerund is obedeciendo and the past participle is obedecido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo obedezco
tú obedeces
él/ella/Ud. obedece
nosotros/as obedecemos
vosotros/as obedecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. obedecen

How the present indicative of obedecer is formed

The present indicative of obedecer is built from the stem obedec- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o obedezco
tú -es obedeces
él/ella/Ud. -e obedece
nosotros/as -emos obedecemos
vosotros/as -éis obedecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en obedecen

obedecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form obedezco in particular.

The gerund of obedecer is obedeciendo and the past participle is obedecido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of obedecer

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and obedecer appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For obedecer, this use looks like this: "Yo obedezco a sus padres sin discutir." — "I obey his parents without arguing." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For obedecer, this use looks like this: "Él obedece las órdenes del jefe." — "He/she obeys the boss's orders." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For obedecer, this use looks like this: "Nosotros obedecemos las normas del colegio." — "We obey the school rules." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For obedecer, this use looks like this: "Ellos obedecen las leyes de tráfico." — "They obey the traffic laws." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For obedecer, this use looks like this: "Tú obedeces a sus padres sin discutir." — "You obey his parents without arguing." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with obedecer. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo obedezco a sus padres sin discutir." — "I obey his parents without arguing."
  • Preterite: "Yo obedecí a sus padres sin discutir." — "I obeyed his parents without arguing." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él obedece las órdenes del jefe." — "He/she obeys the boss's orders."
  • Preterite: "Él obedeció las órdenes del jefe." — "He/she obeyed the boss's orders." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros obedecemos las normas del colegio." — "We obey the school rules."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros obedecimos las normas del colegio." — "We obeyed the school rules." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with obedecer in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo obedezco a sus padres sin discutir. — I obey his parents without arguing.
  2. Tú obedeces las órdenes del jefe. — You obey the boss's orders.
  3. Él obedece las normas del colegio. — He/she obeys the school rules.
  4. Nosotros obedecemos las leyes de tráfico. — We obey the traffic laws.
  5. Vosotros obedecéis a sus padres sin discutir. — You all obey his parents without arguing.
  6. Ellos obedecen las órdenes del jefe. — They obey the boss's orders.
  7. Yo obedezco las normas del colegio. — I obey the school rules.
  8. Él obedece las leyes de tráfico. — He/she obeys the traffic laws.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo obedeco las órdenes del jefe. — Right: Yo obedezco las órdenes del jefe. — In the present, the correct first-person form is obedezco, not obedeco. obedecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo obedezco las normas del colegio. — Right: Ayer, yo obedecí las normas del colegio. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (obedecí), not the present (obedezco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo obedece a sus padres sin discutir. — Right: Yo obedezco a sus padres sin discutir. — The person matters: obedece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is obedezco.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy obedecido las órdenes del jefe. — Right: Yo he obedecido las órdenes del jefe. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he obedecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of obedecer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a sus padres sin discutir. (present tense) A. obedezco B. obedeces C. obedece D. obedecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ las órdenes del jefe. (present tense) A. obedeces B. obedezco C. obedece D. obedecemos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ las normas del colegio. (present tense) A. obedece B. obedezco C. obedeces D. obedecemos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las leyes de tráfico. (present tense) A. obedecemos B. obedezco C. obedeces D. obedece

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ a sus padres sin discutir. (present tense) A. obedecéis B. obedezco C. obedeces D. obedece

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ las órdenes del jefe. (present tense) A. obedecen B. obedezco C. obedeces D. obedece

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las normas del colegio. (present tense) A. obedezco B. obedeces C. obedece D. obedecemos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ las leyes de tráfico. (present tense) A. obedece B. obedezco C. obedeces D. obedecemos

Answer key

  1. obedezco — The yo present form of obedecer is obedezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. obedeces — The tu present form of obedecer is obedeces. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. obedece — The el present form of obedecer is obedece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. obedecemos — The nosotros present form of obedecer is obedecemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. obedecéis — The vosotros present form of obedecer is obedecéis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. obedecen — The ellos present form of obedecer is obedecen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. obedezco — The yo present form of obedecer is obedezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. obedece — The el present form of obedecer is obedece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of obedecer?

Use the present tense of obedecer for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo obedezco a sus padres sin discutir. — "I obey his parents without arguing." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of obedecer formed?

Take the stem obedec- and add the present endings for -er verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of obedecer?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo obedezco las órdenes del jefe. with Yo obedecí las órdenes del jefe. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of obedecer?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the obedecer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Obedecer conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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