εἶ (ei) in John 1:21: Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εἶ (ei) in John 1:21
Textual Witness
The witness text reads "Ηλίας εἶ σύ;" in John 1:21, within a short question-and-answer sequence.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form makes the sentence sound like a direct personal identity question, concise and immediate.
How To Communicate It
It communicates simple present-tense identification in direct speech, with no need to force extra nuance beyond the context.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Verb person and tense help describe the question, but they do not by themselves determine the speaker's final meaning.
- Do not turn present indicative or second person into an interpretive code; let the surrounding dialogue guide the reading.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the word expresses a state of being or identity in this clause, not a separate object or name.
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 singular and agrees with a single second-person address in the question.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It stands in the question, "Ηλίας εἶ σύ;" and is paired with the subject pronoun "σύ."
The form is governed by the questioner's direct address to one person, and it marks a present assertion or identification in that exchange.
It carries the predicate force of the question, asking whether the addressed person is Elijah.
It does not by itself settle the answer or add a title; the surrounding dialogue supplies the meaning and the later denial shapes the reply.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The second-person verb carries the question asking whether John is Elijah.
Direct identity question. asks whether the addressed person matches the proposed identity. Attached to the question are you Elijah. Governed by the interrogative exchange. The verb forms the question; John's answer in context supplies the denial.
What identity is being tested? The question asks whether John is Elijah.
Direct: The verb directly supports the rendering "are you" in the question.
The verb asks the question but does not settle the relationship between John and Elijah language elsewhere.
Question grammar equals theological conclusion: The grammar asks the identity question; interpretation must include John's answer and wider context.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness text reads "Ηλίας εἶ σύ;" in John 1:21, within a short question-and-answer sequence.
The lemma εἰμί is the common Greek verb for being or existing, and here it functions as the normal copular verb of identification.
The second-person singular form fits a direct question to one individual, and the present indicative naturally presents the identity claim as immediate and current.
In context, the form helps frame a straightforward inquiry: whether the person being questioned is Elijah.
Across the passage, the form supports a search for prophetic identity, but the grammar itself does not determine the theological or narrative conclusion.
For readers, the form signals a plain face-to-face question, so translation should preserve the directness and personal address.
Do not derive hidden biography, theological status, or certainty beyond the question itself from the verb form alone.