λέγει, (legei) in John 1:21: Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
λέγει, (legei) in John 1:21
Textual Witness
The witness reads λέγει in John 1:21 within the question-and-answer exchange, so the form clearly belongs to reported speech in this verse.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form mainly frames the answer as spoken speech in the moment, helping the reader follow the dialogue naturally.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to explain that the verse moves from questioning to an immediate verbal reply, not to build an argument from morphology alone.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The verbal form indicates speech, but the surrounding questions determine who is speaking and what is being answered.
- Do not turn present tense, person, or voice into a theological claim; keep the reading anchored in the verse's dialogue.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the word names an act of speaking or stating, and here it introduces an utterance in the flow of the dialogue.
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.
Third person: the form speaks about someone or something rather than directly as I/we or you.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Singular: the form is third person singular, matching one speaking subject in the dialogue.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The reply that follows the question about Elijah
It is governed by the dialogue frame and introduces John's answer in the exchange.
It serves as a speech-reporting verb that moves the dialogue into John's reply.
It does not itself identify the speaker, supply the content of the reply, or add a special theological nuance beyond the act of speaking.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The verb introduces John's reply in the identity-question dialogue.
Present active indicative speech-report verb. introduces the spoken reply. Attached to John's answer in the dialogue. Governed by the question-and-answer exchange in John 1:21. The speech verb moves the dialogue forward; the reply content carries the interpretive point.
What does this verb do in the dialogue? It introduces John's answer to the question being asked.
Direct: The present speech verb directly supports English wording such as "he says."
The present form is a speech-reporting verb in dialogue; it should not be pressed for duration.
Present tense means John is continuously saying this: The present form reports speech in the dialogue; the answer content is what matters.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads λέγει in John 1:21 within the question-and-answer exchange, so the form clearly belongs to reported speech in this verse.
The lemma λέγω means to say or speak, and this form keeps that basic lexical sense while serving the immediate dialogue.
The present indicative presents the speech as the scene unfolds, while the third-person singular points to one speaker already understood from context.
Here the form helps mark a quick, direct reply to the questions about Elijah and the prophet, without adding content of its own.
Across the New Testament, this verb commonly introduces direct discourse, so its use here fits a normal pattern of narrating spoken response.
For communication, the form signals immediacy and keeps attention on the spoken answer rather than on the mechanics of narration.
Do not derive a hidden subject, special emphasis on tense alone, or a change in lexical meaning from this form.