ございます is a combination of the (special-class) verb,
ござる (
御座(ござ)る in its kanji form), and the 助動詞(じょどうし) (auxiliary verb) ます. It is considered 丁寧語(ていねいご) (polite speech), and is directly equivalent to
ある (or
いる).
ござる itself is almost never used in daily conversation in modern Japanese, due to the preference of the polite form,
ございます. However,
ござる is regularly used in dramas, manga, and other forms of media (especially historical dramas).
-
ここは私(わたし)の家(いえ)でござる。
This is my humble abode.
御座(ござ)る literally means ‘to be’, and it does not matter whether the object that is being described is animate (would usually use いる), or inanimate (would usually use ある). However,
いらっしゃる ‘to be’ is preferred when referring to other people, as 尊敬語(そんけいご) is more respectful than 丁寧語(ていねいご). Due to this,
ございます will often be used in reference to people, in place of であります (the polite form of
である).
Notice that
で is used in these examples.
でございます itself is considered its own grammatical structure, that we will examine in a separate grammar point.