Eine Scheibe Brot passt gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen.

A slice of bread goes well with the fried mushrooms.

Breakdown of Eine Scheibe Brot passt gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen.

• das Brot: the bread
• zu: to
• gut: well
• gebraten: fried
• passen: to suit
• den: the; (plural, dative)
• der Pilz: the mushroom
• die Scheibe: the slice

Questions & Answers about Eine Scheibe Brot passt gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen.

What is the grammatical subject, and why is the verb passt in the 3rd person singular?

The subject is Eine Scheibe Brot. The head noun is Scheibe (feminine, singular), so the verb agrees in 3rd person singular: passt. If the subject were plural (e.g., Zwei Scheiben Brot), the verb would be passen.

Why is it zu den and not mit den?

The verb passen in the sense of “to go well with / to match” takes the preposition zu: etwas passt zu etwas. Mit means “with” in the sense of accompaniment, not matching. So Brot passt gut zu Pilzen = “bread goes well with mushrooms,” while Brot mit Pilzen would mean “bread with mushrooms (on/with it).”

What case does zu require, and how can I tell that here?

Zu always takes the dative case. You see that with the article den (dative plural) and the noun ending -n: den Pilzen.

Why is it den gebratenen Pilzen and not die gebratenen Pilze?

Because zu triggers the dative. In the dative plural:

• The article is den.
• Adjectives take the ending -en: gebratenen.
• Most plural nouns take an extra -n: Pilzen.

Why does Pilzen end in -n?

Dative plural nouns normally add -n (or -en), unless the plural already ends in -n or -s. Singular: der Pilz, plural: die Pilze, dative plural: den Pilzen.

Why does the adjective have the ending -en in gebratenen?

In the dative plural, adjectives always end in -en, regardless of whether there’s a definite article, an indefinite article, or none: den gebratenen Pilzen, gebratenen Pilzen—both take -en.

Could I drop the article and say zu gebratenen Pilzen?

Yes. Zu gebratenen Pilzen is grammatical and more general (“to fried mushrooms” in a generic sense). With zu den gebratenen Pilzen, you’re referring to specific mushrooms already known in context.

What does gebraten mean exactly? Is it “fried” or “roasted”?

Braten covers several dry-heat methods (frying, pan-frying, sautéing, roasting). Gebratene Pilze usually implies pan-fried/sautéed mushrooms. If you mean “seared” specifically, you might say angebraten.

Why is Brot used without an article in Eine Scheibe Brot?

This is a common “measure + noun” pattern: container/measure word + bare mass noun. Examples:

• ein Glas Wasser (a glass of water)
• eine Flasche Wein (a bottle of wine)
• ein Stück Kuchen (a piece of cake)
• eine Scheibe Brot (a slice of bread) If you mean a specific bread, you can say eine Scheibe von dem Brot or (more formal) eine Scheibe des Brotes.

Could I say Eine Brotscheibe instead of Eine Scheibe Brot?

Yes. Eine Brotscheibe is a compound noun and is perfectly natural. It’s a bit more compact; eine Scheibe Brot is equally common.

What’s the difference between eine Scheibe Brot and ein Stück Brot?

• eine Scheibe Brot = a thin slice (cut with a knife)
• ein Stück Brot = a piece (size/shape unspecified) Use Scheibe when you mean a slice specifically.

Can the word order change, for example moving the prepositional phrase to the front?

Yes. German is flexible with constituent order as long as the finite verb remains in second position in main clauses:

• Eine Scheibe Brot passt gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen.
• Zu den gebratenen Pilzen passt eine Scheibe Brot gut.
• Eine Scheibe Brot passt zu den gebratenen Pilzen gut. All are correct; the fronted version emphasizes the mushrooms.

Where can gut go? Is passt zu den ... gut okay?

Yes. Adverbs like gut are mobile:

• passt gut zu den …
• passt zu den … gut Positioning can slightly affect rhythm/emphasis, but both are fine.

If I talk about multiple slices, how does the verb change?

Make both the noun and the verb plural:

• Zwei Scheiben Brot passen gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen. Subject: plural ⇒ verb: passen.

Can zu den be contracted like zum or zur?

Not in the plural. Zum = zu dem (masculine/neuter singular), zur = zu der (feminine singular). Plural is zu den and doesn’t contract.

What are the genders of the nouns here?

• die Scheibe (feminine)
• das Brot (neuter)
• der Pilz (masculine), plural die Pilze That’s why we have eine Scheibe, but das Brot, die Pilze.

Why is Brot capitalized but gebratenen is not?

All nouns are capitalized in German: Brot, Pilzen, Scheibe. Adjectives are lowercase when used attributively: gebratenen Pilzen.

Could I use schmecken here instead of passen?

Yes, with a slightly different nuance:

• Eine Scheibe Brot passt gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen. (They go well together; they match.)
• Eine Scheibe Brot schmeckt gut zu den gebratenen Pilzen. (Bread tastes good with fried mushrooms.) Both are idiomatic. Note that schmecken also takes a dative person: Mir schmeckt das.

Is gebraten here an adjective or a verb form?

It’s the past participle of braten used adjectivally (an “adjectival participle”). When used before a noun, it behaves like any adjective and takes endings: gebratenen Pilzen (dative plural).

Can I replace the prepositional phrase with a pronoun like dazu?

Yes, if the context is clear: Eine Scheibe Brot passt gut dazu. Here dazu stands for zu den gebratenen Pilzen.