εἶ; (ei) in John 1:19: Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εἶ; (ei) in John 1:19
Textual Witness
The witness reads εἶ in John 1:19, within the clause, 'Σὺ τίς εἶ;'.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form makes the line sound immediate and personal, focusing attention on identity rather than description or action.
How To Communicate It
In translation and teaching, this form supports a clear interrogative tone and a simple English rendering of direct address.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Verb person and tense here guide the question, but they do not by themselves determine deeper meaning.
- Do not turn verbal grammar into a theological claim or a substitute for the surrounding sentence.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form says being or identity in a clause, and here it functions in a direct question.
Present: often views the action as in progress, customary, or presently in view. Context decides the exact force.
Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.
Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.
Second person: the hearer or hearers are grammatically addressed by the verbal form.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Singular: the form is second person singular, addressing one person directly in the question.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Σὺ τίς
The verb is governed by the question, 'You, who are you?', and it supplies the stated being or identity being asked about.
It serves as the finite verb in a direct interrogative, placing the question on the person's identity rather than on an action.
It is not a noun, not an imperative, and not a gender marker; it does not by itself answer the question.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The second-person verb carries the delegation's identity question to John.
Identity question predicate. asks about the identity of the addressed person. Attached to the question who are you. Governed by the direct interrogative addressed to one person. The verb supplies the question's being-language, while the answer comes from the dialogue.
What is being asked of John? The question asks who he is, not what action he is performing.
Direct: The verb directly supports the rendering "are you" in the identity question.
The verb asks identity; it does not answer the question by itself.
Present tense implies ongoing essence by itself: The present verb serves the identity question; context determines the significance.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads εἶ in John 1:19, within the clause, 'Σὺ τίς εἶ;'.
The lexeme is εἰμί, the common verb of being or existence, here used in a simple personal question.
The singular second person form fits the address to one person, John, and the present indicative frames the inquiry as immediate and straightforward.
The grammar supports a plain request for self-identification: 'Who are you?' It does not add a hidden title or office on its own.
Across Scripture, εἰμί commonly serves as a basic verb of being, presence, or identity, and here it helps carry a direct question about who John is.
For readers and translators, the form signals a concise, personal question and supports rendering such as 'Who are you?'
Do not derive theology, rank, or office from the verb form alone, and do not treat grammatical person as a statement about nature.