ございます after adjective (with ウ音便)


If I understand this correctly, ありがとうございます is formed as follows. First, the
adjective ありがたい is turned into the adverb ありがたく. Then, in ありがたく+ございます, ウ音便
takes place and ありがたく becomes ありがとう.

But in cases like this, what exactly is ございます? Is it a politer version of ある?
If so, could one in theory form sentences in the form of "adjective連用形 + ある"
like 高くある? And what does ある(ござる/ございます) mean in this context? It certainly
makes no sense for ある mean "to exist/to have". Does it mean "to be"?




ございます is basically just the masu-form of the verb ござる, which is a polite
version of ある.

_" There is a book here":_

  * ここに本がある。 (plain)
  * ここに本があります。 (polite)
  * ここに本がござる。 (sounds like a samurai)
  * ここに本がございます。 (very polite and respectful)

These words behave like a copula (だ, "to be") in combination with で. I can say
they no longer mean "to exist", but it's hard to explain why.

_" This is a book."_:

  * これは本である。 (stiff/formal/academic)
  * これは本であります。 (polite, sounds like a politician or a military personnel)
  * これは本でござる。 (sounds like a samurai)
  * これは本でございます。 (very polite)

(ござる is an irregular verb and its masu-form is normally ございます, although ござります
is occasionally used.)

Technically, they can also follow the ウ音便 of i-adjectives (e.g., 高うあります,
面白うござる), but we seldom see this happen today. (ウ音便 itself has become
uncommon.) We don't need a copula for an i-adjective, so I think this type of
あります/ござる/ございます is merely for showing respect or politeness, just like how we
use です with an i-adjective. Instead of おいしゅうございます/おいしゅうござる, we normally say
おいしいです now (see [this
discussion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/15304/5010)).

Still, something like 高くある is occasionally used in modern Japanese, and they
have special connotations ("to stay", "will"). See this question for examples:
[i-adjective modifying ある (eg
強くありたい)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/64993/5010).




ございます is basically just the masu-form of the verb ござる, which is a polite
version of ある.

_" There is a book here":_

  * ここに本がある。 (plain)
  * ここに本があります。 (polite)
  * ここに本がござる。 (sounds like a samurai)
  * ここに本がございます。 (very polite and respectful)

These words behave like a copula (だ, "to be") in combination with で. I can say
they no longer mean "to exist", but it's hard to explain why.

_" This is a book."_:

  * これは本である。 (stiff/formal/academic)
  * これは本であります。 (polite, sounds like a politician or a military personnel)
  * これは本でござる。 (sounds like a samurai)
  * これは本でございます。 (very polite)

(ござる is an irregular verb and its masu-form is normally ございます, although ござります
is occasionally used.)

Technically, they can also follow the ウ音便 of i-adjectives (e.g., 高うあります,
面白うござる), but we seldom see this happen today. (ウ音便 itself has become
uncommon.) We don't need a copula for an i-adjective, so I think this type of
あります/ござる/ございます is merely for showing respect or politeness, just like how we
use です with an i-adjective. Instead of おいしゅうございます/おいしゅうござる, we normally say
おいしいです now (see [this
discussion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/15304/5010)).

Still, something like 高くある is occasionally used in modern Japanese, and they
have special connotations ("to stay", "will"). See this question for examples:
[i-adjective modifying ある (eg
強くありたい)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/64993/5010).

