Obligar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Obligar in Spanish

Obligar means “to force,” “to require,” “to compel,” or “to oblige.” You will learn its g → gu spelling change, regular tense families, and the construction obligar a alguien a + infinitive.

Obligar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, obligar keeps regular -AR endings but changes g → gu before e, preserving the hard g sound in preterite obligué and present subjunctive obligue / obliguemos / obliguéis.

Obligar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber in compound forms. The participle obligado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	obligar	to force / require / oblige
Gerund	obligando	forcing / requiring / obliging
Past participle	obligado	forced / required / obliged

Obligar meaning and essential uses

RAE’s central transitive sense is compelling or impelling someone to do or fulfill something. The high-value learner pattern is obligar a alguien a + infinitive: Obligaron a todos a salir.

RAE also records legal and pronominal senses, but this lesson targets the ordinary transitive meaning “force / require / oblige.”

Obligar spelling and conjugation pattern

Most forms use the stem oblig-. Before endings beginning with e, spelling changes to obligu- to preserve pronunciation: obligué, obligue, obliguemos, obliguéis.

This is an orthographic change, not a stem-vowel change. The gerund obligando, participle obligado, future, conditional, and past-subjunctive families use g.

Obligar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Obligar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligo	I force / require / oblige
Tú — you, singular informal	obligas	you force / require / oblige
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obliga	he / she forces / requires / obliges; you force / require / oblige (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligamos	we force / require / oblige
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligáis	you force / require / oblige (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligan	they force / require / oblige; you force / require / oblige (plural)

• Obligo a los estudiantes a entregar el trabajo. — I require the students to submit the assignment.

Obligar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. First-person singular is obligué: g → gu before e preserves the hard g sound.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligué	I forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	obligaste	you forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligó	he / she forced / required / obliged; you forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligamos	we forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligasteis	you forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligaron	they forced / required / obliged; you forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Ayer obligué al equipo a repetir la prueba. — Yesterday I required the team to repeat the test.

Obligar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligaba	I used to force / require / oblige / was forcing / requiring / obliging
Tú — you, singular informal	obligabas	you used to force / require / oblige / were forcing / requiring / obliging
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligaba	he / she used to force / require / oblige / was forcing / requiring / obliging; you used to force / require / oblige / were forcing / requiring / obliging (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligábamos	we used to force / require / oblige / were forcing / requiring / obliging
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligabais	you used to force / require / oblige / were forcing / requiring / obliging (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligaban	they used to force / require / oblige / were forcing / requiring / obliging; you used to force / require / oblige / were forcing / requiring / obliging (plural)

• Antes obligábamos a todos a firmar. — We used to require everyone to sign.

Obligar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar plus obligando.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy obligando	I am forcing / requiring / obliging
Tú — you, singular informal	estás obligando	you are forcing / requiring / obliging
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está obligando	he / she is forcing / requiring / obliging; you are forcing / requiring / obliging (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos obligando	we are forcing / requiring / obliging
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis obligando	you are forcing / requiring / obliging (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están obligando	they are forcing / requiring / obliging; you are forcing / requiring / obliging (plural)

• Estoy obligando a los usuarios a cambiar la contraseña. — I am requiring users to change the password.

Obligar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir + a + obligar.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a obligar	I am going to force / require / oblige
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a obligar	you are going to force / require / oblige
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a obligar	he / she is going to force / require / oblige; you are going to force / require / oblige (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a obligar	we are going to force / require / oblige
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a obligar	you are going to force / require / oblige (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a obligar	they are going to force / require / oblige; you are going to force / require / oblige (plural)

• Voy a obligar al proveedor a corregir el error. — I am going to require the supplier to correct the error.

Obligar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligaré	I will force / require / oblige
Tú — you, singular informal	obligarás	you will force / require / oblige
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligará	he / she will force / require / oblige; you will force / require / oblige (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligaremos	we will force / require / oblige
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligaréis	you will force / require / oblige (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligarán	they will force / require / oblige; you will force / require / oblige (plural)

• Obligaremos a todos a identificarse. — We will require everyone to identify themselves.

Obligar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligaría	I would force / require / oblige
Tú — you, singular informal	obligarías	you would force / require / oblige
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligaría	he / she would force / require / oblige; you would force / require / oblige (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligaríamos	we would force / require / oblige
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligaríais	you would force / require / oblige (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligarían	they would force / require / oblige; you would force / require / oblige (plural)

• Obligaría al sistema a reiniciarse solo como último recurso. — I would force the system to restart only as a last resort.

Obligar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he obligado	I have forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	has obligado	you have forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha obligado	he / she has forced / required / obliged; you have forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos obligado	we have forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis obligado	you have forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han obligado	they have forced / required / obliged; you have forced / required / obliged (plural)

• He obligado al equipo a documentar el cambio. — I have required the team to document the change.

Obligar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había obligado	I had forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	habías obligado	you had forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había obligado	he / she had forced / required / obliged; you had forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos obligado	we had forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais obligado	you had forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían obligado	they had forced / required / obliged; you had forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Ya habíamos obligado a todos a salir. — We had already forced everyone to leave.

Obligar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré obligado	I will have forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás obligado	you will have forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá obligado	he / she will have forced / required / obliged; you will have forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos obligado	we will have forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis obligado	you will have forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán obligado	they will have forced / required / obliged; you will have forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Para entonces habrán obligado a los responsables a responder. — By then they will have required the responsible parties to respond.

Obligar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría obligado	I would have forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías obligado	you would have forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría obligado	he / she would have forced / required / obliged; you would have forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos obligado	we would have forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais obligado	you would have forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían obligado	they would have forced / required / obliged; you would have forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Habría obligado al proveedor a repetir el proceso. — I would have required the supplier to repeat the process.

Obligar subjunctive conjugations

Obligar present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. Present subjunctive uses obligu- throughout: obligue, obligues, obliguemos, obliguéis.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligue	that I force / require / oblige
Tú — you, singular informal	obligues	that you force / require / oblige
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligue	that he / she force / require / oblige; that you force / require / oblige (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obliguemos	that we force / require / oblige
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obliguéis	that you force / require / oblige (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obliguen	that they force / require / oblige; that you force / require / oblige (plural)

• Quiero que obligues al proveedor a cumplir el contrato. — I want you to require the supplier to comply with the contract.

Obligar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligara	that I forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	obligaras	that you forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligara	that he / she forced / required / obliged; that you forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligáramos	that we forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligarais	that you forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligaran	that they forced / required / obliged; that you forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Preferían que obligáramos a todos a registrar la entrada. — They preferred that we require everyone to record entry.
• Era mejor que obligases al sistema a verificar los datos. — It was better for you to force the system to verify the data.

Obligar future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	obligare	if / when I should force / require / oblige
Tú — you, singular informal	obligares	if / when you should force / require / oblige
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	obligare	if / when he / she should force / require / oblige; if / when you should force / require / oblige (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	obligáremos	if / when we should force / require / oblige
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligareis	if / when you should force / require / oblige (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	obligaren	if / when they should force / require / oblige; if / when you should force / require / oblige (plural)

• Quien obligare a otra persona a actuar contra la norma deberá responder por ello. — Whoever should force another person to act against the rule must answer for it.

Obligar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya obligado	that I have forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas obligado	that you have forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya obligado	that he / she has forced / required / obliged; that you have forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos obligado	that we have forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis obligado	that you have forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan obligado	that they have forced / required / obliged; that you have forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas obligado al proveedor a corregir el fallo. — I am glad that you required the supplier to correct the fault.

Obligar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera obligado	that I had forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras obligado	that you had forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera obligado	that he / she had forced / required / obliged; that you had forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos obligado	that we had forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais obligado	that you had forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran obligado	that they had forced / required / obliged; that you had forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Si hubiera obligado al equipo a revisar antes, habríamos detectado el error. — If I had required the team to review earlier, we would have detected the error.
• Si hubieses obligado a todos a confirmar, habría menos dudas. — If you had required everyone to confirm, there would be fewer doubts.

Obligar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant obligado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere obligado	if / when I should have forced / required / obliged
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres obligado	if / when you should have forced / required / obliged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere obligado	if / when he / she should have forced / required / obliged; if / when you should have forced / required / obliged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos obligado	if / when we should have forced / required / obliged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis obligado	if / when you should have forced / required / obliged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren obligado	if / when they should have forced / required / obliged; if / when you should have forced / required / obliged (plural)

• Si hubieren obligado a participantes adicionales a firmar, deberán conservar esos registros. — If they should have required additional participants to sign, they must retain those records.

Obligar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Obligar affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	obliga	force
Usted — you, singular formal	obligue	force (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	obliguemos	let’s force
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	obligad	force (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	obliguen	force (plural)

• Obliga al proveedor a responder por escrito. — Require the supplier to respond in writing.

Obligar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no obligues	do not force
Usted — you, singular formal	no obligue	do not force (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no obliguemos	let’s not force
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no obliguéis	do not force (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no obliguen	do not force (plural)

• No obligues a nadie a aceptar sin leer. — Do not force anyone to accept without reading.

Common constructions with Obligar

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• obligar a alguien a + infinitive. — to force / require someone to do something.
• obligar a algo. — to compel toward an action or outcome, depending on context.
• estar obligado a + infinitive. — to be required / obliged to do something; passive/adjectival construction.
• obligarse a + infinitive. — pronominal: to bind or commit oneself to doing something.

Example sentences with Obligar

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• La ley obliga a las empresas a informar. — The law requires companies to provide information.
• No puedes obligarme a ir. — You cannot force me to go.
• Han obligado al proveedor a corregir el problema. — They have required the supplier to fix the problem.
• Espero que no obligues a nadie a decidir con prisa. — I hope you do not force anyone to decide in a hurry.
• La situación nos obligó a cambiar de plan. — The situation forced us to change plans.
• Obliga al sistema a pedir confirmación. — Make the system request confirmation.

Regional and usage notes for Obligar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos obligás a todos a registrarse. — You require everyone to register. (voseo)
• Obligá al proveedor a responder hoy. — Require the supplier to respond today. (affirmative vos command)

Obligar is regular except for the spelling rule g → gu before e. Memorize obligué / obligue / obliguemos and the central syntax obligar a alguien a + infinitive.