Meaning
Very polite forms replacing です and あります, used by shop and hotel staff, in announcements and in business: こちらでございます, お手洗いは二階にございます.
Formation
- After a noun or な-adjective, です → でございます: こちらが新しいメニューでございます; not after an い-adjective (✗高いでございます)
- あります → ございます, ありません → ございません
- Past: でございました, ございました; asking a customer: ご質問はございませんか
When to use it
- Core use
- Very polite 'is' and 'there is'
Example
お手洗いは二階にございます
The restroom is on the second floor.
Important notes
- Pay attention to the word form before the construction and to the particles around it.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate the pattern word for word; first identify its function in the whole situation.