Breakdown of Das Frühstück besteht aus Brot und Obst.
und
and
das Brot
the bread
das Obst
the fruit
das Frühstück
the breakfast
Questions & Answers about Das Frühstück besteht aus Brot und Obst.
Why does the sentence use besteht aus instead of just ist?
In German, bestehen aus is the standard expression for “to consist of / to be made up of.”
- Das Frühstück besteht aus Brot und Obst.
= “The breakfast consists of bread and fruit.”
If you said Das Frühstück ist Brot und Obst, it would be understandable, but it sounds less natural and more like an identity statement (“Breakfast is bread and fruit”) rather than describing its components. Bestehen aus clearly expresses composition.
What exactly does bestehen aus mean, and is it one word or two?
Bestehen aus is a verb + preposition combination:
- bestehen = to consist / to exist / to pass (an exam, in other contexts)
- aus = from / out of / of
Together bestehen aus means “to consist of / to be composed of.” It is not a separable prefix verb.
So you say:
- Das Frühstück besteht aus Brot und Obst.
- Woraus besteht das Frühstück? – “What does the breakfast consist of?”
In the perfect tense:
- Das Frühstück hat aus Brot und Obst bestanden.
Why is the preposition aus used here, and which case does it take?