いらっしゃる: who is coming, going, or here?

いらっしゃる is the respectful counterpart of three ordinary verbs: 来(く)る, 行(い)く, and いる. The important idea is not simply “formal movement.” It is honorific perspective. You choose いらっしゃる when the person who comes, goes, or is present is someone you want to place respectfully in the sentence, such as a teacher, customer, guest, senior colleague, or unfamiliar person. For your own action, it normally sounds wrong because it would raise you instead.

This perspective comes before the English translation. First identify who performs the action. If that person is the respected subject, いらっしゃる may fit. Then use the destination, current location, time expression, and conversation to decide whether natural English needs “come,” “go,” or “be.” One Japanese form covers all three, but the surrounding scene keeps them clear.

First ask who is already there

Imagine that Emi is helping with a public lecture. Professor Mori is the guest speaker, and Emi needs to coordinate the room, the arrival time, and tomorrow's travel. Before the doors open, she asks another volunteer:

Here, 会場に names a location, and もう asks whether the expected state has begun. Nothing in the sentence describes motion toward or away from the speakers, so いらっしゃいます means “is here” or “is at the venue.” This is one of the most useful everyday patterns. On the phone, at a reception desk, or in an office, person は／が place にいらっしゃいますか politely asks whether that person is present.

Notice whose status the verb marks. Professor Mori is the subject of being at the venue, so the respectful verb points to him. The listener may also deserve polite speech, which is why this sentence ends in ますか, but those are two separate jobs. The verb stem supplies respect toward the subject; the ます ending makes the utterance polite toward the listener.

Let the destination reveal come or go

A few minutes later, Emi receives the schedule and tells the other volunteer:

The destination こちら is the place on Emi's side of the conversation. In this scene, the professor will move toward the venue, so English naturally uses “come.” The same Japanese verb that meant “be present” now represents 来(く)る. You do not need a different honorific verb for arrival.

After the lecture, Emi hears about the professor's next trip:

Kyoto is a destination away from the current scene, so English uses “go.” In Japanese, the respected subject is still Professor Mori, and いらっしゃる now stands in for 行(い)く. The plain form appears before そうです because it is embedded inside “I hear that.” Respect toward the professor remains even though the final sentence is polite.

A compact reading rule follows the story. A location with no movement usually points to いる. Movement toward the speaker's or scene's location points to 来(く)る. Movement to another destination points to 行(い)く. Context, not the shape of いらっしゃる, makes the English choice.

Use the forms people actually say

The polite nonpast form is いらっしゃいます, not いらっしゃります. The polite past is いらっしゃいました, and the て-form is いらっしゃって. In everyday respectful questions, いらっしゃいますか is especially worth learning as one unit.

When Emi calls Professor Mori to check the meeting point, she can ask:

This is respectful and direct enough for an existing coordination call. どちら is the polite choice for “where,” and the professor is the person whose location receives respect. In a relaxed chat with a close friend, 今どこにいる？ is much more natural. Using いらっしゃいますか with a close friend in an ordinary situation can sound needlessly distant, ceremonious, or playful rather than warmly polite.

The social fit is broader than a simple older-versus-younger rule. Speakers use respectful language for roles such as teachers, customers, guests, and senior colleagues, but also to maintain distance or show consideration toward someone unfamiliar. You may hear it in service, workplace, school, public-announcement, and careful first-meeting language. In ordinary conversation among equals who are close, 来る, 行く, and いる usually sound more natural.

Change the verb when the action is yours

Now Emi must say what she will do next. The respected professor is her destination, but Emi is the person going:

伺(うかが)います is a humble choice for going to or visiting someone you respect. In a context that does not call for humble language, Emi can simply say 行きます. She should not say 私が先生の研究室へいらっしゃいます. The subject is 私, so that sentence tries to honor Emi's own movement. A polite ending does not repair the perspective.

This subject check also prevents a common misunderstanding: いらっしゃる does not mean “I move politely.” It respectfully presents the person who performs the coming, going, or being. If that person is you, start with 行きます, 来ます, or います, then choose a humble form such as 伺います only when the relationship and destination call for it.

Keep one perspective through the whole scene

The event story moves from presence to arrival to onward travel, but the verb choice stays coherent because Professor Mori remains the respected subject. The location and destination do the translation work. When Emi becomes the subject, the verb changes. That is the practical habit to carry into real conversation: find the actor, decide whether that actor should receive respect, and only then read the movement from context.