Learn Swedish: Det snötäckta berget kändes som om det vore livshotande. - The snow-covered mountain felt as if it were life-threatening.

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?

vore is the subjunctive form of the verb vara (to be). Although the subjunctive is rare in modern Swedish, vore is still heavily used after som om (as if) to describe something hypothetical or unreal. It matches the English use of "were" in "as if it were".

Why does kändes have an at the end?