Questions & Answers about Я готов, а ты?
Why use готов instead of the regular adjective готовый?
Готов is a short-form adjective. In Russian, we use short forms to describe temporary states or conditions. Since being ready is almost always temporary (you are ready for an event right now), we use the short form готов rather than the long form готовый, which implies a permanent characteristic.
How would this sentence change if a woman were speaking?
Even though they are short, these adjectives still need to match the gender of the person they describe. If a woman is speaking, she must use the feminine ending -а and say Я готова, а ты?
Why does the sentence use а for 'and' instead of и?
In Russian, и is used to add things together, but а is used to show a slight contrast or to bounce a question back to someone. Here, you are stating your own status and then switching focus to ask about the other person, so а acts like 'what about' or 'and what about'.
If I am talking to a group of people, how do I change the sentence?
You would change the pronoun to the plural вы (you all) and ask Я готов, а вы?. If the group replies that they are also ready, they must use the plural short-form ending -ы: Мы готовы.