Learn Hardcore Chinese: zǎoshang wǒ chángcháng chī jīdàn hé miànbāo. - In the morning I often eat eggs and bread.

You could also say 我早上常常吃鸡蛋和面包, which is also correct. Both are common; putting 早上 first emphasizes the time a bit more as the “topic” of the sentence.

Can I say 在早上我常常吃鸡蛋和面包 like in English “in the morning”?

Native speakers usually don’t add 在 here. The most natural options are:

早上我常常吃鸡蛋和面包。
我早上常常吃鸡蛋和面包。

在早上 is grammatical but sounds a bit stiff or bookish in this simple daily-life sentence. You do see 在 + time for some expressions (e.g. 在三点, 在周末), but 早上 / 晚上 / 中午 are very often used without 在 when they just mark general time:

早上我上班。 – I go to work in the morning.
晚上我学习中文。 – I study Chinese at night.

Why is 常常 placed before 吃? Can it go somewhere else?

Adverbs of frequency like 常常, 经常, 有时候 normally go before the main verb:

我常常吃早饭。 – I often eat breakfast.
他有时候喝咖啡。 – He sometimes drinks coffee.

So 我常常吃 is the standard position.

Other positions:

我吃常常鸡蛋。 – ❌ incorrect / unnatural
常常我早上吃鸡蛋和面包。 – possible but sounds marked / special emphasis, not neutral.

So the natural structure is:

(Time) + Subject + Frequency adverb + Verb + Object
→ 早上我常常吃鸡蛋和面包。

What is the difference between 常常 and 经常? Could I use 经常 here?

You can replace 常常 with 经常 here:

早上我经常吃鸡蛋和面包。

Differences:

常常 and 经常 both mean often / frequently.
In everyday modern Mandarin, 经常 is slightly more common in speech, but 常常 is also very natural.
There is no big meaning difference in this kind of simple sentence.

So both are fine; you can treat them as near-synonyms for now.

Why is there no plural marker like 们 after 鸡蛋 and 面包?

Chinese usually does not mark plural on nouns the way English does.

鸡蛋 can mean egg or eggs depending on context.
面包 can mean bread or bread (as a type), or a piece of bread from context.

The plural marker 们 is mostly for people (and some animals in special contexts), for example:

我们 – we
他们 – they
孩子们 – children

You wouldn’t say 鸡蛋们 or 面包们 in normal Chinese.

To be specific about number, you add a number + measure word:

两个鸡蛋 – two eggs
三片面包 – three slices of bread

For example:

早上我常常吃两个鸡蛋和一片面包。
In the morning I often eat two eggs and one slice of bread.

Do I need a measure word with 鸡蛋 or 面包 in this sentence?

In the original sentence, you are talking about what you usually eat in a general sense, not a specific quantity, so no measure word is needed:

吃鸡蛋和面包 – eat eggs and bread (in general)

You add measure words when you want a specific amount:

吃一个鸡蛋 – eat one egg
吃两片面包 – eat two slices of bread
吃一块面包 – eat a piece of bread

Both styles are natural:

General: 早上我常常吃鸡蛋和面包。
Specific: 早上我常常吃两个鸡蛋和一片面包。

How is 和 used here? Is it like English “and”? Can it connect verbs too?

In this sentence, 和 is joining two nouns:

鸡蛋和面包 – eggs and bread

Using 和 to connect nouns (people, things, places) is very common and quite close to English “and”.

But for verbs or whole clauses, Chinese often uses different structures instead of just putting 和 between them. For example:

我吃鸡蛋和喝牛奶。 – grammatically possible but feels a bit clumsy.
More natural is:
- 我吃鸡蛋，也喝牛奶。 – I eat eggs and also drink milk.

So:

Noun A 和 noun B – very common and natural.
For actions, it’s often better to use patterns like 也, 还, 又, or just separate sentences.

Could I leave out 我 and just say 早上常常吃鸡蛋和面包?

Yes. If it’s clear from context that you are talking about yourself, you can omit 我:

早上常常吃鸡蛋和面包。

This is still natural Chinese. Chinese often drops the subject when it is obvious from conversation, especially in informal speech or writing (messages, chats).

However, if there is no context yet and you’re making a standalone sentence in a textbook or for practice, keeping 我 makes it clearer:

早上我常常吃鸡蛋和面包。

What’s the difference between 早上, 早晨, and 上午?

All relate to morning, but with slightly different nuances:

早上
- Very common in spoken Chinese.
- Roughly “in the morning”, often from waking up until around 9–10 a.m.
- Natural in this sentence.
早晨
- A bit more literary or formal.
- Emphasizes “early morning”.
- You could say 早晨我常常吃鸡蛋和面包, but people more often say 早上 in daily conversation.
上午
- Means “morning” as the a.m. half of the day, usually from about 8/9 a.m. to 12 noon.
- Often used for schedules: 上午九点, 上午开会.

For your sentence, 早上 is the most natural and conversational choice.

Is 常常 a repetition for emphasis, like saying “often often”? Why is it doubled?

In 常常, the two 常 characters together form one word meaning often / frequently.

Historically, 常 alone can also mean “often” or “frequent”, but in modern spoken Mandarin, 常常 or 经常 are far more common for “often”.
So 常常 isn’t a special “reduplication for emphasis” in the same way that some other verbs or adjectives are repeated for a softer feel (like 看看, 试试). It’s just the standard form of the adverb.

You can treat 常常 as a single vocabulary item: 常常 = often.

How is tense expressed in this sentence? It looks like there’s no past or present marker.

Chinese doesn’t change the verb form for different tenses the way English does (eat / ate / eaten). Instead, it relies on:

Time words: 早上, 昨天, 明天
Aspect particles / context: like 了, 过, 在

In this sentence:

早上 and 常常 together indicate a habitual action in the present (and possibly continuing habit):
早上我常常吃鸡蛋和面包。
→ “I often eat eggs and bread in the morning.”

There is no need for extra tense marking. The listener understands it as a general, repeated habit because of 常常 and the general time frame 早上.