お~です

Some happy news: This grammar point is pretty simple, so we'll be through it in no time.

JLPT N3: お～です

When you want to be mega-formal and say "(honorable person) is doing X," you can say お X です.

An example:

This sentence is showing respect to Yan-san by using honorific language.

This is essentially the same thing as saying:

社長、中でヤンさんが待っていらっしゃいます。
しゃちょう、　なか　で　ヤンさん　が　まっていらっしゃいます。
Mr. (Company) President, Yan-san is waiting inside.
Literally: “company president, + inside + で + Yan-san + が + is waiting (honorific).”

And that is just a much more formal version of this:

Long story short: お～です is an honorific form of the present progressive tense.

Formation

1) Take a verb in its ます-form.

2) Remove ます.

3) Put お in the front and です in the back.

待つ（まつ // to wait）
↓
待ちます（まちます // wait）
↓
お待ちです（おまちです // [honorable person] is waiting）

Another way to phrase that would be:

お ＋ ます-stem ＋ です

お待ちです（おまちです // [honorable person] is waiting）

In this lesson, we're using these verbs:

待つ（まつ // to wait）
困る（こまる // to be troubled; to be worried）
考える（かんがえる // to think about; to consider）
持つ（もつ // to hold; to carry; to possess）

I'll leave the conjugations to you. I think you can handle these ones. I have faith in you!

By the way, be careful to note the difference between 待つ (まつ // to wait) and 持つ (もつ // to hold; to carry; to possess), as the kanji are very similar. I misread these all the time, especially when I'm trying to get through a text very quickly.

The お～です form is quite often used when asking very polite questions to people. In fact, all of our remaining example sentences are questions...

お客様、なにかお困りですか。
おきゃくさま、　なにか　おこまり　ですか。
Is something the matter, ma’am [sir]?
Literally: “(honorable) customer, + something + お-troubling + です + か.”

加賀さんはどうお考えですか。
かがさん　は　どう　おかんがえ　ですか。
What do you think, Kaga-san?
Literally: “Kaga-san + は + how / what + お-thinking + です + か.”

身分証明書をお持ちですか。
みぶんしょうめいしょ　を　おもち　ですか。
Do you have a form of identification?
Literally: “form of identification + を + お-holding + です + か.”

See? I told you it'd be a short lesson.