Drugi autobus kasni.

The second bus is late.

Breakdown of Drugi autobus kasni.

• autobus: bus
• kasniti: to be late
• drugi: second

Questions & Answers about Drugi autobus kasni.

What does drugi mean here: second or another?

In this sentence, drugi most naturally means the second:

• Drugi autobus kasni. = The second bus is late.

However, drugi can also mean another / the other in some contexts. Serbian often relies on context to make the exact meaning clear.

For example:

• Čekam drugi autobus. can mean I’m waiting for another bus or the second bus, depending on the situation.

So the word itself can have more than one translation, but in a simple sentence like this, learners are often first taught second.

Why is it drugi autobus and not some other form of drugi?

Because drugi is an adjective, and it must agree with autobus in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• autobus is masculine
• singular
• nominative case (the subject of the sentence)

So the adjective also takes the masculine singular nominative form:

• drugi autobus

Compare:

• drugi autobus = masculine singular
• druga knjiga = feminine singular
• drugo pitanje = neuter singular