The Imperfect Tense of obedecer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo obedecía a mis padres cuando era niño. (I used to obey my parents when I was a child.)

Obedecer is a regular -er verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the standard pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Obedecer (to obey) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of obedecer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

Expressing habitual or repeated actions in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, obedecía a mis padres. (When I was a child, I used to obey my parents.)

Describing ongoing actions or states in the past: For example, Obedecía las reglas de la escuela. (I was obeying the school rules.)

Expressing background information or setting the scene: For example, Mientras obedecía las instrucciones, me di cuenta de un error. (While I was following the instructions, I realized there was a mistake.)

Describing physical or emotional states in the past: For example, Obedecía a mi jefe aunque no me gustaba. (I used to obey my boss even though I didn’t like it.)

Expressing age or time in the past: For example, Cuando obedecía a mis padres, tenía 10 años. (When I used to obey my parents, I was 10 years old.)

Colloquial usage: In informal contexts, obedecer can be used with a sarcastic or defiant tone, as in ¡No me obedecías ni a mí ni a nadie! (You didn’t obey me or anyone!)

Examples

Examples of Obedecer in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, obedecía a mis padres sin cuestionar. (When I was a child, I obeyed my parents without questioning.)

En la escuela, obedecíamos a nuestros maestros sin rechistar. (At school, we obeyed our teachers without complaint.)

Ella obedecía las instrucciones del entrenador al pie de la letra. (She obeyed the coach’s instructions to the letter.)

Ustedes desobedecían las normas de tránsito con demasiada frecuencia. (You disobeyed traffic rules too often.)

Yo obedecía las órdenes de mi jefe, aunque a veces no estuviera de acuerdo. (I obeyed my boss’s orders, even if I sometimes disagreed.)

Ellos obedecían las leyes y reglamentos sin excepción. (They obeyed laws and regulations without exception.)

Tú desobedecías a tus padres cuando eras adolescente, ¿verdad? (You disobeyed your parents when you were a teenager, right?)

Nosotros obedecíamos las reglas del juego para mantener todo justo. (We obeyed the rules of the game to keep everything fair.)

Vosotros obedecíais las órdenes del sargento sin rechistar. (You obeyed the sergeant’s orders without complaint.)

Ella desobedecía las normas sociales porque creía que eran anticuadas. (She disobeyed social norms because she believed they were outdated.)

Ustedes obedecían las instrucciones de seguridad durante el vuelo. (You obeyed the safety instructions during the flight.)

Yo desobedecía a mis padres cuando me prohibían salir con mis amigos. (I disobeyed my parents when they forbade me from going out with my friends.)

Ellos obedecían las reglas de la comunidad para mantener la armonía. (They obeyed the community rules to maintain harmony.)

Vosotros desobedecíais las advertencias de no acercaros al acantilado. (You disobeyed the warnings not to approach the cliff.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Obedecer (to obey) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.