diff --git a/dbt/include/snowflake/macros/relations/external_table/external_table.sql b/dbt/include/snowflake/macros/relations/external_table/external_table.sql
index 5a1bf0633..c846656d3 100644
--- a/dbt/include/snowflake/macros/relations/external_table/external_table.sql
+++ b/dbt/include/snowflake/macros/relations/external_table/external_table.sql
@@ -12,21 +12,60 @@
 {# This assumes you have already created an external stage #}
 
     create or replace external table {{ relation }}
+    {%- if columns or partitions or infer_schema -%}
     (
-
-    {%- for column in columns %}
-        {%- set column_alias = column.name %}
-        {%- set col_expression -%}
-                {%- set col_id = 'value:c' ~ loop.index if is_csv else 'value:' ~ column_alias -%}
-                (case when is_null_value({{col_id}}) or lower({{col_id}}) = 'null' then null else {{col_id}} end)
-        {%- endset %}
-        {{column_alias}} {{column.data_type}} as ({{col_expression}}::{{column.data_type}})
-        {{- ',' if not loop.last -}}
-    {% endfor %}
-
+        {%- if partitions -%}{%- for partition in partitions %}
+            {{partition.name}} {{partition.data_type}} as {{partition.expression}}{{- ',' if not loop.last or columns|length > 0 or infer_schema -}}
+        {%- endfor -%}{%- endif -%}
+        {%- if not infer_schema -%}
+            {%- for column in columns %}
+                {%- set column_quoted = adapter.quote(column.name) if column.quote else column.name %}
+                {%- set column_alias -%}
+                    {%- if 'alias' in column and column.quote -%}
+                        {{adapter.quote(column.alias)}}
+                    {%- elif 'alias' in column -%}
+                        {{column.alias}}
+                    {%- else -%}
+                        {{column_quoted}}
+                    {%- endif -%}
+                {%- endset %}
+                {%- set col_expression -%}
+                    {%- if column.expression -%}
+                        {{column.expression}}
+                    {%- else -%}
+                        {%- set col_id = 'value:c' ~ loop.index if is_csv else 'value:' ~ column_alias -%}
+                        (case when is_null_value({{col_id}}) or lower({{col_id}}) = 'null' then null else {{col_id}} end)
+                    {%- endif -%}
+                {%- endset %}
+                {{column_alias}} {{column.data_type}} as ({{col_expression}}::{{column.data_type}})
+                {{- ',' if not loop.last -}}
+            {% endfor %}
+        {% else %}
+        {%- for column in columns_infer %}
+                {%- set col_expression -%}
+                    {%- set col_id = 'value:' ~ column[0] -%}
+                    (case when is_null_value({{col_id}}) or lower({{col_id}}) = 'null' then null else {{col_id}} end)
+                {%- endset %}
+                {{column[0]}} {{column[1]}} as ({{col_expression}}::{{column[1]}})
+                {{- ',' if not loop.last -}}
+            {% endfor %}
+        {%- endif -%}
     )
+    {%- endif -%}
+    {% if partitions %} partition by ({{partitions|map(attribute='name')|join(', ')}}) {% endif %}
     location = {{location}} {# stage #}
-
+    {% if auto_refresh in (true, false) -%}
+      auto_refresh = {{auto_refresh}}
+    {%- endif %}
+    {% if aws_sns_topic -%}
+      aws_sns_topic = '{{aws_sns_topic}}'
+    {%- endif %}
+    {% if table_format | lower == "delta" %}
+      refresh_on_create = false
+    {% endif %}
+    {% if pattern -%} pattern = '{{pattern}}' {%- endif %}
+    {% if integration -%} integration = '{{integration}}' {%- endif %}
     file_format = {{file_format}}
+    {% if table_format -%} table_format = '{{table_format}}' {%- endif %}
 
 {% endmacro %}