Breakdown of Nachdem es geschneit hatte, haben wir den Flug storniert.
es
it
haben
to have
wir
we
schneien
to snow
Questions & Answers about Nachdem es geschneit hatte, haben wir den Flug storniert.
Why do we use hatte geschneit here instead of just hat geschneit?
This is the Past Perfect tense (Plusquamperfekt). We use it to show that an action was completely finished before another action in the past happened. Since the snow happened before you canceled the flight, it gets the Past Perfect. The conjunction nachdem (after) is a strong trigger for this tense!
Why are the verbs hatte and haben right next to each other, separated only by a comma?
This is a classic German word order pattern. The first part, Nachdem es geschneit hatte, is a subordinate clause, which forces its conjugated verb (hatte) to the very end. This entire clause takes up 'Position 1' of the main sentence. To keep the main verb in 'Position 2', the main clause must start immediately with haben.
Could I use the word nach instead of nachdem since they both mean 'after'?
No, they have different grammatical jobs! nach is a preposition used in front of a noun phrase (like nach dem Schnee — after the snow). Because you are introducing a full clause that has its own subject and verb (es geschneit hatte), you must use the conjunction nachdem.
Why doesn't the past participle for canceling start with ge- (like gestorniert)?