ております

ております is formed by combining the て form of a verb with おる (the humble version of いる) in its ます form.

Key Functions:

• Ongoing Actions: Describing what you are currently doing in a formal context (e.g., 待っております - "I am waiting"). It is also used to describe the actions of your in-group (e.g., colleagues, your boss) when speaking to an out-group (e.g., clients) (e.g., 担当の田中は席を外しております - "Tanaka, the person in charge, is away from their desk").
• Continuous States: Describing a lasting state. Note that for "to know," 存じております（ぞんじております） is used for knowing facts or things, while 存じ上げております（ぞんじあげております） is used for knowing people. Both are preferred professional forms over 知っております（しっております）. Important: As with all humble verbs, because ております is humble, you must never use it to ask about the listener's own state or actions (e.g., never say 知っておりますか？ or 存じておりますか？). Instead, use the honorific form ご存じですか（ごぞんじですか） for knowing, or the general honorific equivalent 〜ていらっしゃいます for other ongoing actions (e.g., instead of 待っておりますか？, use 待っていらっしゃいますか？ or お待ちですか？). Additionally, the phrase 〜となっております is extremely common in customer service and business to politely state rules, schedules, or established facts (e.g., お支払いは現金のみとなっております - "Payment is cash only").
• Habitual Actions: Describing things you do regularly (e.g., 日本語を勉強しております - "I am studying Japanese").
• Public Announcements & Inanimate Objects: Used for inanimate subjects in formal settings (e.g., 電車が遅れております - "The train is delayed" or 雨が降っております - "It is raining"). Crucially, this includes inanimate objects belonging to or directed at the listener (e.g., お荷物が届いております - "Your luggage has arrived" or お部屋の準備が整っております - "Your room is ready"). Because the subject is an object rather than the listener themselves, it is perfectly acceptable to use this pattern to ask about the state of the listener's belongings (e.g., お荷物は届いておりますでしょうか？ - "Has your luggage arrived?"). Note that across all its uses, ております functions as 丁重語（ていちょうご）(Courteous language / Humble II)—it elevates the overall tone of the statement to show general courtesy to the audience, rather than humbling an action toward a specific target.

Combining with Humble Verbs:
〜ております is frequently attached to other humble verbs to create highly polite business expressions. For example, combining it with いたします creates いたしております, and combining it with 伺う（うかがう） creates 伺っております. Another extremely common combination in modern customer service and business emails is 〜させていただいております (We are taking the liberty of doing... / We do...).

Conjugations and Orthography:
In business settings, the negative form 〜ておりません (I am not doing) and the past form 〜ておりました (I was doing) are extremely common. Important: To say "I do not know," you must use 存じておりません（ぞんじておりません） or 存じません（ぞんじません）. Never use 知っておりません（しっておりません）, as it is unnatural. Additionally, when used as an auxiliary verb, this pattern should generally be written in hiragana (ております) rather than kanji (て居ります). Furthermore, unlike casual speech where the "い" in ている is often dropped (e.g., 〜てます), 〜ております can never be contracted in standard business Japanese.

Usage Context:
This pattern is primarily used in formal settings like business emails, announcements, and customer service. It is used for the speaker's own actions, the actions of their "in-group" (company/family), or neutral third-party subjects (like a train or the weather). It should never be used to describe the actions of the listener or a respected third party (like a customer or a boss), as that would be unintentionally rude.

Regional Note:
While ております is strictly humble/courteous in Standard Japanese, in Western Japan (such as Kansai or Kyushu), the base verb おる is often used as a neutral substitute for いる without the humble nuance. Additionally, learners are often confused by 〜ておられます, which is frequently used in Western Japan as a respectful form to describe the listener's actions.