gedekte

Gedekte is the past participle of the Dutch verb dekken and is used as an adjective to describe something that has been prepared, laid out, or covered. In everyday Dutch the most common usage refers to a table that has been set for a meal: de gedekte tafel, the set or laid table.

Grammatical notes and usage. When gedekte functions attributively before a singular noun with the definite article, it takes the -e ending: de gedekte tafel. In predicative position, the participle is gedekt: De tafel is gedekt. For plural nouns, the attributive form also takes -e: de gedekte tafels. The distinction between gedekt (predicative) and gedekte (attributive) is a standard feature of Dutch adjective inflection after definite articles.

Common contexts. Gedekte is especially common in discussions of hospitality, etiquette, and domestic life, where it signals readiness and order. Examples include: Toen de gasten arriveerden, was de tafel al gedekt. De gedekte tafel nodigt uit tot eten, ook in beschrijvende teksten over die gelegenheid.

Variants and related terms. The root verb dekken covers several senses: to set a table, to cover something with a lid or cloth, or to overlay a surface. Gedekte can therefore appear in contexts beyond tables, referring to things that have been prepared or covered, though the table-setting meaning is by far the most frequent in ordinary usage. The corresponding predicative form is gedekt.

See also. dekken; tafel; etiquette; Dutch adjectives.