Breakdown of Det snötäckta berget kändes som om det vore livshotande.
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
berget
the mountain
kännas
to feel (to have a certain feel, to seem)
som om
as if
livshotande
life-threatening
snötäckt
snow-covered
Questions & Answers about Det snötäckta berget kändes som om det vore livshotande.
How are the compound adjectives snötäckt and livshotande constructed in this sentence?
Both combine a noun with a participle. snötäckt directly connects the noun snö (snow) to the past participle täckt (covered). livshotande connects the noun liv (life) to the present participle hotande (threatening), but requires the connecting letter -s- in the middle, creating livshotande.
Why does snötäckta get an -a at the end while livshotande doesn't change?
snötäckt uses a past participle, which acts like a normal adjective and must agree with the noun. It gets an -a here because it describes a definite noun (Det ... berget). livshotande uses a present participle (ending in -ande). Present participles are invariable, meaning they never change their endings for gender, number, or definiteness.
Why is the word vore used here instead of var?
Why does kändes have an -s at the end?
Adding an -s to the verb känna (to feel or to know) changes its meaning. While jag kände means "I felt (something physically)", det kändes means "it felt (gave a certain impression)". Verbs ending in -s like this often describe how something is perceived by the senses.
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