Zbog

Zbog is a preposition in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Montenegrin that means "because of" or "due to." It introduces a cause or reason for an action, event, or situation and is typically used with a noun in the genitive case. For example, "Zbog kiše nismo išli" means "We did not go because of the rain." The phrases "zbog toga" (for that reason) and "zbog čega?" (for what reason?) are common variants.

Grammar and usage: Zbog governs the genitive; the following noun is inflected accordingly (kiše, posla, razloga). It can appear before or after the main clause, as in "Let je otkazan zbog tehničkih problema" or "Zbog tehničkih problema, let je otkazan." The preposition is used across formal and informal speech and in written language to express causal relationships.

Etymology: The form is generally linked to a compound of za ("for") plus bog ("god"), with a historical sense of "for God's sake" that broadened to mean "for the sake of" and then to "because of" in general. The word has cognates or similar formations in other Slavic languages, reflecting a common semantic development.

See also: zato, stoga, iz razloga. These terms are related in meaning and are used to express consequence or cause, though with different stylistic or regional preferences.