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Conjugation Chart

“Obedecer” (to obey) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Obedecer”

The preterite of obedecer is used to express when someone obeyed at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “The dog obeyed my command immediately” – “El perro obedeció mi orden inmediatamente.”

This verb follows the regular -er conjugation pattern in the preterite tense, making it straightforward to conjugate with no spelling changes or stem changes required.

How to Use Obedecer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of obedecer expresses completed acts of obedience.

To obey: Describes following orders or rules in a specific instance, for example Obedecí las instrucciones (I obeyed the instructions), or Los estudiantes obedecieron al profesor (The students obeyed the teacher).

To comply with: Indicates following regulations or requirements, for example Obedecieron la ley (They complied with the law).

Real Life Examples of Obedecer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

El perro obedeció las órdenes de inmediato. (The dog obeyed the orders immediately.)

Los estudiantes obedecieron al profesor. (The students obeyed the teacher.)

Obedecí las instrucciones al pie de la letra. (I obeyed the instructions to the letter.)

¿Por qué no obedeciste las señales? (Why didn’t you obey the signs?)

Obedecimos todas las reglas de seguridad. (We obeyed all the safety rules.)

El conductor no obedeció el límite de velocidad. (The driver didn’t obey the speed limit.)

Los soldados obedecieron las órdenes del general. (The soldiers obeyed the general’s orders.)

Obedeciste a tus padres sin protestar. (You obeyed your parents without protesting.)

Nadie obedeció la alarma de evacuación. (Nobody obeyed the evacuation alarm.)

Obedecimos el protocolo establecido. (We obeyed the established protocol.)

El equipo obedeció la estrategia del entrenador. (The team obeyed the coach’s strategy.)

Obedecieron la ley sin excepciones. (They obeyed the law without exceptions.)

Obedecí mi instinto y me fue bien. (I obeyed my instinct and it went well.)

La nave obedeció los controles perfectamente. (The ship obeyed the controls perfectly.)

Obedecieron el toque de queda. (They obeyed the curfew.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

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

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

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.