obbedireste

Obbedireste is the second-person plural conditional present form of the Italian verb obbedire, meaning “you would obey.” It expresses a hypothetical action by the subject voi (you all) and is used in conditional statements or to discuss what would happen under certain conditions.

Conjugation and formation: The full conditional present of obbedire is formed on the infinitive stem obbedire- with standard conditional endings. The forms are: io obbedirei, tu obbediresti, lui/lei obbedirebbe, noi obbediremmo, voi obbedireste, loro obbedirebbero. The form obbedireste specifically corresponds to “you all would obey.” The verb behaves regularly in the conditional, while in the present tense it has the characteristic -isc- alternation in some forms (io obbedisco, tu obbedisci, etc.), but this does not affect the conditional mood endings.

Usage: Obbedireste is used to describe what would happen if a certain condition were met, or to pose a hypothetical scenario involving obedience. It is not a command form; rather, it conveys possibility or intention under stated conditions. Examples: Se voi obbedireste agli ordini, evitereste problemi. Voi obbedireste senza discutere se ve lo chiedessero.

Etymology: The verb obbedire comes from Latin oboedire, from ob- (toward) and audire (to hear), historically meaning to listen to and thus to obey. The conditional form obbedireste inherits this verb with regular Italian endings.