bestehender

Bestehender is a German adjective form derived from the verb bestehen, meaning existing or present. It is used to describe something that exists, is current, or is in effect. The word often appears in legal, business, and technical contexts to distinguish what is already in place from something new or hypothetical.

Grammatical usage and inflection: Bestehender is the masculine singular form used with certain determiners. With no determiner, the strong inflection yields "bestehender Vertrag" (a existing contract). With an indefinite article, it becomes "ein bestehender Vertrag" (an existing contract). With possessive determiners, as in "mein bestehender Vertrag" (my existing contract), the form remains "bestehender." For feminine nouns the form is "bestehende" (z. B. eine bestehende Regel); for neuter "bestehendes" (z. B. ein bestehendes Gebäude); and for plural "bestehende" or "bestehende Verträge" depending on case and article. The corresponding declined forms after definite articles include "der bestehende Vertrag," "des bestehenden Vertrags," "dem bestehenden Vertrag," and "den bestehenden Verträgen."

Usage notes: Bestehender frequently appears in phrases like "ein bestehender Zustand" (an existing state) or "die bestehenden Verträge" (the existing contracts). It contrasts with terms meaning created or newly formed, such as "neu" (new) or "entstanden." While "bestehender" can sometimes function as a nominalized form in stylistic contexts, it is primarily an attributive adjective describing a noun.

Etymology: The word comes from the verb bestehen plus the present participle/gerundive suffix -end, forming an adjective that denotes existence or current validity. It is closely related to verwandte Formen wie bestehend, bestehende und bestehendes, which share the same semantic core.