Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ měitiān zǎoshang zuò gōngjiāochē de shíhou, chángcháng gēn sījī shuō “zǎoshanghǎo". - Every morning on the bus I often say “good morning” to the driver.

坐公交车 = (I) take the bus
Add 的 to turn that verb phrase into something like a noun phrase (“the time of taking the bus”)
Then add 时候 (“time / moment”)

So 坐公交车的时候 = “(at) the time when (I) take the bus” / “when (I) am on the bus”.

Structure:
[verb / verb phrase] + 的 + 时候 → when …

Examples:

我上课的时候，不看手机。
= When I am in class, I don’t look at my phone.
他回家的时候，买了咖啡。
= When he went home, he bought coffee.

Why do we have both 每天 and 早上? Isn’t that redundant?

They each add different information:

每天 = every day (frequency)
早上 = in the morning (time of day)

Together, 每天早上 means every morning (not every afternoon or night).

Compare:

我每天坐公交车。
= I take the bus every day (time of day not specified).
我早上坐公交车。
= I take the bus in the morning (maybe not every day).
我每天早上坐公交车。
= I take the bus every morning (both: daily + morning).

Could I move 每天早上 to another position, like after the verb?

Normally, time expressions come before the verb in Chinese:

(Subject) + (Time) + (Manner / Place) + Verb + Object

So the most natural versions are:

我每天早上坐公交车。
我每天早上坐公交车的时候，常常跟司机说早上好。

Putting the time after the verb, like:

我坐公交车每天早上…… is possible in some contexts but usually sounds less natural or needs a different structure.

For everyday speech, keep 每天早上 before 坐.

What exactly does 跟 mean in 常常跟司机说? Why not just say 说司机?

Here 跟 is like “to / with” in English.

跟 + person + 说 + (something)
= say (something) to (someone) / speak with (someone)

You can’t say 说司机 to mean “say to the driver”. 说 on its own usually takes:

a thing as an object: 说汉语, 说这件事, 说真话
or direct speech: 他说：……, 说“谢谢”

To indicate who you’re speaking to, you add 跟 (or sometimes 对):

跟司机说早上好。= Say good morning to the driver.
跟朋友说话。= Talk with a friend.

What’s the difference between 跟 and 对 in this sentence? Could I say 对司机说“早上好”?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

跟司机说“早上好”
- Very common in spoken Chinese
- Emphasizes speaking with someone, feels a bit more two‑way or conversational.
对司机说“早上好”
- Also correct
- Slightly more formal or one‑directional, like directing words toward someone.

In everyday speech here, 跟司机说“早上好” is more natural and common.

Why is there no word meaning “to him / to her” in 跟司机说“早上好”?

Chinese often leaves out pronouns when they’re obvious from context.

司机 already tells you who you’re talking to.
You don’t need to add 他 (“him”).

Adding 他 would sound redundant here:

跟司机说“早上好”。✔
跟司机他说“早上好”。✘ (ungrammatical)

If you needed a pronoun because the noun isn’t repeated, you could say:

跟他说“早上好”。= Say “good morning” to him.

What does 常常 do, and where can I put it in the sentence?

常常 means often / frequently.

In this sentence:

我每天早上坐公交车的时候，常常跟司机说早上好。

It modifies the whole action 跟司机说早上好.

Common placements:

After the subject:
- 我常常跟司机说早上好。
After time expressions:
- 我每天早上常常跟司机说早上好。

Putting it where the original sentence has it (after the 的时候 clause) is very natural:

我每天早上坐公交车的时候，常常跟司机说早上好。

You wouldn’t put 常常 after the verb:

✘ 跟司机常常说早上好 (not natural here).

Why is there a comma after 的时候?

The sentence has two parts:

我每天早上坐公交车的时候
→ A time clause (“when I take the bus every morning”)
常常跟司机说早上好
→ The main action (“I often say good morning to the driver”)

In Chinese, it’s very common to put a comma between a clause that sets the time / condition / reason and the main clause:

下雨的时候，我在家看书。
忙的时候，他不接电话。

So the comma just separates “when …” from what happens in that time.

Why use 坐公交车 and not something like 在公交车上?

These express slightly different ideas:

坐公交车
- literally “sit on / ride the bus”
- focuses on the action of taking the bus as transportation.
在公交车上
- “on the bus” (location)
- focuses on where you are physically.

Your sentence focuses on the time when you take the bus, so 坐公交车的时候 is natural.

You could say:

我每天早上在公交车上的时候，常常跟司机说早上好。 but 坐公交车的时候 is shorter and more idiomatic in daily speech.

Is 公交车 the same as 公共汽车 or 公车?

They are closely related:

公交车
- Very common, especially in Mainland China.
- Literally “public transport vehicle” → city bus.
公共汽车
- Older, more formal full form.
- Also means bus.
公车
- Colloquial short form.
- In some places can also mean official/government car, so be careful with context.

In this sentence, 公交车 is the most natural modern choice for “(city) bus”.

Why just 司机 and not 公交车司机? Is it clear who the driver is?

Context makes it clear:

Because you just said 坐公交车, when you say 司机 immediately afterward, listeners will naturally understand “the bus driver”.

If you needed to be very clear (for teaching, for writing, or in a context with multiple types of drivers), you could say:

公交车司机
公车司机

But in everyday conversation, 司机 right after 公交车 is perfectly clear.

Is saying 早上好 to someone natural in Chinese? Would people say something else to a bus driver?

早上好 is correct and understandable, but in casual spoken Chinese, people more often say:

早！ (“Morning!”)
早啊！ / 早呀！ (friendly, casual)
师傅早！ (very natural to a driver; 师傅 is a respectful way to address skilled workers, drivers, etc.)

So to a bus driver, you might hear:

师傅，早！
早啊，师傅！

早上好 is fine, a bit closer to textbook / polite style, but not wrong.

Why can the greeting 早上好 come directly after 说 without any special word?

Chinese uses this very common pattern:

说 + direct speech

So you can say:

他说：我很忙。
她说：谢谢。
跟司机说：早上好。

You don’t need extra words like English “say that …” or “say ‘good morning’”. You simply put the exact words after 说.

Your sentence just omits the colon and quotation marks in running text:

跟司机说早上好。
= say “good morning” to the driver.

What’s the difference between 早上 and 上午? Could I say 每天上午 here?

早上
- Early morning; roughly from getting up until around 8–9 a.m.
- Feels more informal / daily‑life.
上午
- Morning (up to around noon).
- Slightly more neutral / formal, used in schedules, announcements, etc.

If the bus ride really happens early, 每天早上 is better.
If you mean “sometime in the morning” more generally, 每天上午 is also possible:

我每天上午坐公交车的时候，常常跟司机说早上好。 ✔

But since you’re saying 早上好, 早上 matches the greeting a bit more naturally than 上午.