Obligar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

obligar means to oblige, to force, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Obligar means to oblige or to force, and it is used for obliging students to study, a driver to stop and a company to pay a fine. It takes a plus the infinitive for the forced action, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. This page puts obligar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for obligar, and the full tables are on the obligar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo obligo a los alumnos a estudiar. — I oblige the students to study.
  2. Él obliga al conductor a parar. — He/she obliges the driver to stop.
  3. Ayer, yo obligué a su hijo a comer verduras. — Yesterday, I obliged her son to eat vegetables.
  4. Antes, nosotros obligábamos a la empresa a pagar la multa. — Before, we used to oblige the company to pay the fine.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú obligarás a los alumnos a estudiar. — Tomorrow, you will oblige the students to study.
  2. Yo obligaría al conductor a parar. — I would oblige the driver to stop.
  3. Él ha obligado a su hijo a comer verduras. — He/she has obliged her son to eat vegetables.
  4. Espero que él obligue a la empresa a pagar la multa. — I hope he/she obliges the company to pay the fine.

With other people

  1. Nosotros obligamos a los alumnos a estudiar. — We oblige the students to study.
  2. Vosotros obligáis al conductor a parar. — You all oblige the driver to stop.
  3. Antes, ellos obligaban a su hijo a comer verduras. — Before, they used to oblige her son to eat vegetables.
  4. Mañana, él obligará a la empresa a pagar la multa. — Tomorrow, he/she will oblige the company to pay the fine.

Obligar in context

Two short dialogues that use obligar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy obligo a los alumnos a estudiar." — "Today I oblige the students to study."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, obligué a su hijo a comer verduras." — "Yesterday I obliged her son to eat vegetables."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú obligarás al conductor a parar?" — "And tomorrow, will you will oblige the driver to stop?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros obligamos a la empresa a pagar la multa." — "Tomorrow we oblige the company to pay the fine."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo obligaría al conductor a parar si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would oblige the driver to stop if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él obligue a los alumnos a estudiar." — "I hope he obliges the students to study."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha obligado a su hijo a comer verduras." — "Surely. He has already has obliged her son to eat vegetables."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo obliga a los alumnos a estudiar. — Right: Yo obligo a los alumnos a estudiar. — The person matters: obliga is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is obligo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo obligé al conductor a parar. — Right: Yo obligué al conductor a parar. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is obligué, not obligé. obligar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating obligar and forzar as identical in every context. — Right: Obligar means to oblige, to force, while forzar means to force, the stronger verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: obligar fits sentences such as Obligo a los alumnos a estudiar, while forzar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy obligado al conductor a parar. — Right: Yo he obligado al conductor a parar. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he obligado, has obligado, ha obligado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo obligué a su hijo a comer verduras todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo obligaba a su hijo a comer verduras todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (obligaba), not the preterite. The preterite (obligué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on obligar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los alumnos a estudiar. (present tense) A. obligo B. obligas C. obliga D. obligamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ al conductor a parar. (preterite tense) A. obligué B. obligaste C. obligamos D. obligó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a su hijo a comer verduras. (future tense) A. obligará B. obligaremos C. obligarás D. obligaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a la empresa a pagar la multa. (imperfect tense) A. obligabais B. obligábamos C. obligaba D. obligabas

  5. What does "Yo obligo a los alumnos a estudiar." mean in English? A. I oblige the students to study. B. I oblige the driver to stop. C. I oblige her son to eat vegetables. D. I oblige the company to pay the fine.

  6. What does "Él obligó al conductor a parar." mean in English? A. He/she obliged the students to study. B. He/she obliged her son to eat vegetables. C. He/she obliged the company to pay the fine. D. He/she obliged the driver to stop.

  7. What does "Nosotros obligaremos a su hijo a comer verduras." mean in English? A. We will oblige the driver to stop. B. We will oblige the company to pay the fine. C. We will oblige her son to eat vegetables. D. We will oblige the students to study.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo obligan al conductor a parar. B. Yo obliga al conductor a parar. C. Yo obligo al conductor a parar.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él obligué a su hijo a comer verduras. B. Él obligó a su hijo a comer verduras. C. Él obligaron a su hijo a comer verduras.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo obligue a la empresa a pagar la multa. B. Yo oblige a la empresa a pagar la multa. C. Yo obligue a la empresa a pagar la multa.

Answer key

  1. obligo — The yo present form of obligar is obligo.
  2. obligó — The el preterite form of obligar is obligó.
  3. obligarás — The tu future form of obligar is obligarás.
  4. obligábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of obligar is obligábamos.
  5. I oblige the students to study. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form obligo, so the English is "I oblige the students to study." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she obliged the driver to stop. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form obligó, so the English is "He/she obliged the driver to stop." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will oblige her son to eat vegetables. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form obligaremos, so the English is "We will oblige her son to eat vegetables." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo obligo al conductor a parar. — The correct sentence is "Yo obligo al conductor a parar." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él obligó a su hijo a comer verduras. — The correct sentence is "Él obligó a su hijo a comer verduras." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo obligue a la empresa a pagar la multa. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo obligue a la empresa a pagar la multa." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does obligar mean, and when do I use it?

Obligar means to oblige, to force. Obligar means to oblige or to force, and it is used for obliging students to study, a driver to stop and a company to pay a fine. It takes a plus the infinitive for the forced action, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo obligo a los alumnos a estudiar. — "I oblige the students to study."

What is the difference between obligar and forzar?

Obligar means to oblige, to force, while forzar means to force, the stronger verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use obligar when you mean to oblige, to force, as in Yo obligo al conductor a parar., and use forzar for to force, the stronger verb.

How do I say "I oblige" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo obligué al conductor a parar.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo obligaba a su hijo a comer verduras.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he obligado al conductor a parar..

How do I practise obligar?

Start with the obligar conjugation page for the full tables, then the obligar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: g becomes gu before e, so the preterite is obligué and the subjunctive is obligue. Obligar a alguien a + infinitive is to force them to do it.

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