Breakdown of Vlada mora više ulagati u zaštitu okoliša.
u
in, into
morati
must
više
more
ulagati
to invest (imperfective)
Questions & Answers about Vlada mora više ulagati u zaštitu okoliša.
Why do we use the accusative case in u zaštitu instead of the locative u zaštiti?
The verb ulagati (to invest) implies moving resources into something. In Croatian, when a preposition like u shows direction or a figurative transfer rather than a static location, it takes the accusative case.
Why is okoliša in the genitive case?
This literally translates to protection of the environment. When one noun modifies another to show association or belonging, Croatian uses the genitive case for the second noun, much like using the word 'of' in English.
Why use the imperfective verb ulagati instead of the perfective uložiti?
The sentence describes a general, ongoing obligation or a continuous policy rather than a single, completed financial investment. Because it refers to a continuous or repeated action, the imperfective aspect is the natural choice.
Could we use an adjective to describe the protection instead of the genitive noun okoliša?
You could grammatically say okolišnu zaštitu, but zaštita okoliša is the standard, fixed phrase for environmental protection in Croatian. Using a noun followed by another noun in the genitive is the most natural way to express this official concept.