Questions & Answers about Es schneit, und wir sehen das bedeckte Eis nicht.
How does the word bedeckte work here?
bedeckt (covered) is the past participle of the verb bedecken (to cover). In this sentence, it is being used as an adjective describing the noun Eis. Just like any normal adjective, it needs a grammatical ending. Because it follows the neuter definite article das in the accusative case, it takes the weak ending -e, making it bedeckte.
Why doesn't the past participle bedeckt start with ge-?
Verbs that start with an inseparable prefix, like be- in bedecken, don't get the ge- prefix when forming the past participle. Other common inseparable prefixes include ver-, er-, and ent-. That is why it is simply bedeckt instead of gebedeckt.
Why is nicht at the very end of the sentence instead of before the ice?
When you negate an entire action or a direct object that uses a definite article (like das bedeckte Eis), nicht generally goes to the end of the clause. If you put nicht right in front of das bedeckte Eis, it would imply a contrast, meaning something like: "We don't see the covered ice (we see something else instead)."
Why doesn't und change the word order of the second clause?