Breakdown of Priroda ne može brzo razgraditi plastiku, zbog toga nije dobra sirovina.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ne
no, not
dobar
good
moći
can
plastika
plastic
brzo
quickly
zbog
because of
priroda
nature
taj
that (masculine)
razgraditi
to decompose
sirovina
raw material
Questions & Answers about Priroda ne može brzo razgraditi plastiku, zbog toga nije dobra sirovina.
The verb razgraditi means 'to decompose'. How does the prefix raz- change the root word?
The root is graditi, which means 'to build'. The prefix raz- often implies separation, dismantling, or undoing an action. So, razgraditi literally means to 'un-build' or break something down into its parts.
Why is plastiku in the accusative case, but dobra sirovina is in the nominative case when they both refer to plastic?
In the first clause, plastic is the direct object receiving the action of decomposing, so it takes the accusative plastiku. In the second clause, it becomes the subject of the new phrase. The pronoun ona (it) is dropped, and the predicate noun phrase dobra sirovina takes the nominative case.
Could I use zato instead of zbog toga in this sentence?
Yes, you could say zato nije dobra sirovina. Both function as 'therefore' or 'because of that' and are interchangeable here. Zbog toga explicitly uses the preposition zbog (because of) with the genitive pronoun toga (that) to point back to the previous clause.
Is razgraditi a perfective or imperfective verb?
It is perfective, focusing on the completion of the action. The sentence is about nature's inability to successfully finish breaking the plastic down. The imperfective equivalent for the ongoing process of decomposing would be razgrađivati.
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