由…组成 / 由…构成【yóu … zǔchéng / yóu … gòuchéng】

由…组成 says what something is made up of. The whole is the subject, the parts follow 由, and 组成 or 构成 closes the sentence. It is written and neutral, common in textbooks, reports and descriptions.

是…的 around it makes the sentence a statement of fact about the thing, the way a definition reads.

组成 or 构成

组成 joins separate members or units into a group: people into a team, parts into a machine. 构成 is about the elements that make something what it is, and it suits abstract things.

Both verbs also work the other way round, with the parts as subject and no 由: 二十个学生组成了一个班.

English word order

"Consist of" puts the verb first. In Chinese the verb goes to the end, after the parts.

• × 这个队组成由五个人 → 这个队由五个人组成
• × 这个队由五个人 → 这个队由五个人组成