Learn Croatian: Zbog oštećenja osjetljive kapute peremo odvojeno. - Because of damage, we wash delicate coats separately.

The infinitive is prati (to wash). It is a stem-changing verb, meaning its root changes in the present tense. The stem pra- becomes per-, which gives us the present tense forms like perem, pereš, and here, peremo (we wash).

What case is oštećenja, and why?

It is in the Genitive case because it follows the preposition zbog (because of), which always requires the Genitive. The base word is the neuter noun oštećenje (damage), and neuter nouns ending in -e take an -a ending in the Genitive singular.

Could oštećenja be a plural form here?

Yes, it could! For neuter nouns like oštećenje, the Genitive singular, Nominative plural, and Genitive plural all happen to be oštećenja. Based on the translation "because of damage", it is treated as a singular concept here, but grammatically it could also mean "because of damages".

Why is the direct object osjetljive kapute placed before the verb peremo?

Croatian has a flexible word order. Putting the object before the verb puts a little extra emphasis on what exactly we are washing separately (the delicate coats). It would be perfectly fine to use standard order and say Zbog oštećenja peremo osjetljive kapute odvojeno.