Puknuće cijevi nastaje zbog istrošenosti.

because of

Breakdown of Puknuće cijevi nastaje zbog istrošenosti.

• nastati: to arise
• puknuće cijevi: burst pipe
• istrošenost: wear and tear

Questions & Answers about Puknuće cijevi nastaje zbog istrošenosti.

What does puknuće mean grammatically? Is it a normal noun or something derived from a verb?

Puknuće is a verbal noun: a noun derived from the verb puknuti (to crack, burst, rupture).

In this sentence, puknuće names the event/result itself: a rupture / bursting / cracking.

A learner will often notice that Croatian can express an action either:

• with a verb: Cijev je puknula = the pipe burst
• or with a noun: Puknuće cijevi = the rupture of the pipe

So yes, it behaves like a noun here, but it comes from a verb.

Why is it cijevi and not cijev?

Because cijevi is in the genitive singular.

The basic noun is:

• cijev = pipe

After a noun like puknuće, Croatian often uses the genitive to mean of ...:

• puknuće cijevi = rupture of the pipe

So:

• cijev = nominative singular
• cijevi = genitive singular

This is very common in Croatian noun phrases.

Could cijevi also be plural?