estemos

Estemos is the first-person plural present subjunctive form of the Spanish verb estar. In contemporary usage it functions mainly to express exhortation or to introduce non-real or hypothetical content in dependent clauses, often translated as "let us" or "may we." Examples include Es importante que estemos atentos and Ojalá que estemos allí mañana, both conveying a wish or a proposed action rather than a simple statement of fact.

Morphology and irregularity: Estar is irregular in the present subjunctive; estemos is formed from the stem est- plus the nosotros ending -emos. The full present-subjunctive paradigm is esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén. Use of estemos is restricted to subjunctive contexts and contrasts with the indicative estamos (we are).

Usage: Estemos frequently appears in exhortations and formal or semi-formal discourse, inviting collective action or a certain attitude. It appears after expressions of necessity, desire, doubt or emotion, as in Es necesario que estemos preparados, Espero que estemos de acuerdo, or Ojalá que estemos juntos para el evento. In everyday speech, speakers may prefer other constructions such as vamos a estar or seamos, depending on nuance. It is not used as an ordinary affirmative command; that role belongs to the imperative forms or the nosotros form with other moods.

Etymology and related forms: Estar derives from Latin stāre or a related root in Vulgar Latin; estemos shares that root in the present subjunctive. The form is cognate with Portuguese estejamos and with similarly patterned forms in other Romance languages, reflecting a common subjunctive morphology for the nosotros person.