Expressing Consequence with "uslijed"
In Croatian, the preposition uslijed expresses consequence or result. It translates to "due to" or "as a result of" and is often used to explain structural wear, physical stress, or material degradation.
Uslijed requires the following noun phrase to be in the genitive case.
Using "uslijed" with Feminine Nouns
For regular feminine nouns like vlaga (moisture) and hrđa (rust), the genitive singular ending is -e (vlage, hrđe).
| The wall in the basement is weakening due to moisture. | Zid u podrumu slabi uslijed vlage. |
| The damage occurred due to rust under the paint. | Oštećenje je nastalo uslijed hrđe pod bojom. |
Using "uslijed" with Neuter Nouns
For neuter nouns like trenje (friction) and naprezanje (strain), the genitive singular ending is -a (trenja, naprezanja). Any accompanying adjectives take the neuter genitive ending -og or -eg.
| I noticed great wear and tear of the tires due to friction. | Primijetio sam veliku istrošenost guma uslijed trenja. |
| The concrete is cracking due to great strain. | Beton puca uslijed velikog naprezanja. |
Plurals and Multiple Causes
If the consequence is plural, use the genitive plural (often -ih for adjectives and -a for nouns). For example, stalne vibracije (constant vibrations) becomes stalnih vibracija:
| Friction grows due to constant vibrations. | Trenje raste uslijed stalnih vibracija. |
When listing multiple causes, every noun following uslijed must be in the genitive:
| The pipe is cracking due to corrosion and moisture. | Cijev puca uslijed korozije i vlage. |
