λέγω); (lego) in Romans 3:5: Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative

Verb: the word names the act of speaking or stating something, rather than a person or thing.

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.

First person: the speaker is grammatically represented in the verb, so the aside is framed as the speaker's own explanatory wording.

Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.

Singular: the form is first person singular here, so the speaker identifies the statement as his own.

Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

κατὰ ἄνθρωπον

The verb stands with the parenthetical phrase and marks the speaker's own explanatory comment, not a separate main clause.

It functions as a brief first person aside, showing that Paul is speaking in a human manner for the sake of the argument.

It does not introduce a new topic or replace the surrounding question; it simply qualifies the way the claim is being voiced.

High: The first-person verb marks Paul parenthetical aside that he is speaking in a human way for the sake of argument.

First-person singular present active indicative parenthetical verb. marks the aside as the speaker explanatory comment. Attached to the parenthetical phrase about speaking according to man. Governed by Paul rhetorical argument in the surrounding clause. The first-person form identifies Paul own wording in the aside; it does not change the doctrine being argued.

How does Paul mark this wording? The first-person singular form presents the aside as Paul own explanatory way of speaking.

Direct: The first-person singular form directly supports English wording such as "I speak" or "I say."

The aside should be read as part of Paul argument, not as a separate doctrinal premise detached from the context.

First-person aside changes the doctrine under discussion: The grammar marks Paul aside; the doctrine must be read from the whole argument.

The witness reads λέγω within the clause '(κατὰ ἄνθρωπον λέγω);' in Romans 3:5.

The lemma is λέγω, a common verb meaning to say or speak, so the basic idea is verbal assertion.

The first person singular form lets the reader hear an explicit speaker comment, and the present indicative keeps it in the flow of the present argument.

In context, the phrase signals that the question is being framed in a human way, as part of the logic of the discussion about God's righteousness and wrath.

This fits Paul's frequent habit of interrupting argument with direct, first person explanatory remarks that guide the reader's hearing of the question.

For communication, the form helps translators preserve the aside-like tone and the speaker's self-aware framing of the statement.

Do not derive a claim that the verb itself changes the doctrine, intensifies the argument beyond context, or adds meaning not supplied by the clause.