Learn Croatian: Zbog kratkovidnosti ne mogu vidjeti ploču. - Due to nearsightedness, I cannot see the board.

The preposition zbog requires the genitive case. Because kratkovidnost is a feminine noun ending in a consonant, specifically with the suffix -ost, its genitive singular ending is -i, making it kratkovidnosti.

Is the verb vidjeti perfective or imperfective here?

Vidjeti is one of the rare biaspectual verbs in Croatian, meaning it acts as both perfective and imperfective depending on context. In this sentence, it functions imperfectively because it describes an ongoing state of being unable to see the board.

Strictly speaking, could we use the preposition radi instead of zbog in this sentence?

Grammatically, no. While native speakers sometimes mix them up in casual speech, zbog is strictly used for the cause of an action (due to nearsightedness), whereas radi is used to show purpose or a goal (for the sake of).

How does the suffix -nost affect the grammar of the word kratkovidnost?

The suffix -nost is very common for forming abstract nouns from adjectives. It always creates a feminine noun that ends in a consonant. These nouns follow a specific declension pattern where the genitive, dative, and locative cases all share the same -i ending.