Õpetame

Õpetame is the present tense, first-person plural form of the Estonian verb õ̃petama, meaning to teach or to instruct. It translates to "we teach" in English and is used when the subject of the sentence is a group that includes the speaker.

In Estonian, õ̃petama belongs to the group of verbs that conjugate with person and number. The paradigm for the present tense includes ma õpetan (I teach), sa õpetad (you teach), ta õpetab (he/she teaches), me õpetame (we teach), te õpetate (you all teach), nad õpetavad (they teach). The verb form õpetame specifically signals that the teaching action is performed by us as a group.

The noun forms related to the verb convey the broader concept of teaching. Õpetamine denotes the act of teaching, while õpetaja refers to a teacher. Õpe is a broader term for education or learning, and is part of the same semantic field.

Usage and context: Õpetame is commonly used in educational contexts, such as schools, training programs, or community courses, to describe the collective action of teaching. Examples include: Me õpetame lapsi lugema. (We teach children to read.) Me õpetame koolis matemaatikat. (We teach mathematics at school.)

Overall, õpetame is a core present-tense form used to express collaborative teaching activity in Estonian.