Learn Hardcore Greek: Το πρωί το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο και βρίσκω πάντα θέση. - In the morning the bus is almost empty and I always find a seat.

They are two separate units, so each one keeps its article.
Putting only one article in front of both would be ungrammatical in Greek. You can think of it as:

[Το πρωί] [το λεωφορείο] είναι…
[In the morning] [the bus] is…

Why do we say το πρωί instead of just πρωί?

Both exist, but they’re used slightly differently:

το πρωί = in the morning / the morning (as a time of day)
→ neutral, very common in statements of routine:
- Το πρωί πίνω καφέ. = In the morning I drink coffee.
πρωί (without article) = early / in the morning, but often in a more adverb-like way, or in set expressions:
- Ξύπνησα πρωί. = I woke up early / in the morning.
- Αύριο πρωί (colloquial) = tomorrow morning

In your sentence, Το πρωί is the standard, natural way to express a regular, habitual situation happening in the morning.

Why is it το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο and not something like στο λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο?

Here το λεωφορείο is the subject of the sentence:

Το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο.
The bus is almost empty.

If you used στο λεωφορείο (= in the bus), it would become a prepositional phrase, no longer the subject:

Στο λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο. – This is ungrammatical / unclear, because στο λεωφορείο (in the bus) can’t stand as the subject of είναι here.

To say In the bus it is almost empty, you would need a clear subject:

Στο λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο το πίσω μέρος.
In the bus the back is almost empty.

Why is άδειο in the neuter form? I might expect something like άδειος.

Adjectives in Greek must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

το λεωφορείο is neuter, singular, nominative.
Therefore, its adjective must also be neuter singular nominative: άδειο.

The forms are:

masculine: άδειος
feminine: άδεια
neuter: άδειο

So:

ο δρόμος είναι άδειος. (the road is empty – masculine)
η αίθουσα είναι άδεια. (the hall is empty – feminine)
το λεωφορείο είναι άδειο. (the bus is empty – neuter)

What is the role of σχεδόν in σχεδόν άδειο, and where can it go?

σχεδόν is an adverb meaning almost / nearly. It modifies the adjective άδειο (empty).

σχεδόν άδειο = almost empty

Its usual, most natural position is right before the word it modifies:

Το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο.

You can sometimes hear άδειο σχεδόν, but it sounds more marked, a bit more emphatic or stylistic. The neutral, everyday version is σχεδόν άδειο.

Why is βρίσκω in the present tense? In English we say “I always find”, but that’s also present – is the usage the same?

Yes, in this case the usage is very similar.

Greek present tense (ενεστώτας) is used:

For actions happening now
For habitual / repeated actions in general time

Here you’re describing a habitual situation:

Το πρωί το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο και βρίσκω πάντα θέση.
In the morning the bus is almost empty and I always find a seat.

So βρίσκω (I find) and είναι (it is) are in the present tense for a general, repeated fact, just like English I always find.

Why is πάντα placed between βρίσκω and θέση? Could I say Πάντα βρίσκω θέση instead?

Both are correct, but there are small differences in focus and style.

All of these are grammatical:

Πάντα βρίσκω θέση.
Βρίσκω πάντα θέση.
Βρίσκω θέση πάντα. (less common, more “afterthought-like”)

Nuances:

Πάντα βρίσκω θέση.
Slightly more emphasis on “always” as a general statement.
Βρίσκω πάντα θέση.
Very natural in speech; the adverb sits comfortably after the verb.

In your sentence, βρίσκω πάντα θέση flows nicely with the rhythm of the whole phrase. But using Πάντα βρίσκω θέση would still be perfectly correct.

Why is there no μια in βρίσκω πάντα θέση? Why not βρίσκω πάντα μια θέση?

Both exist, but the nuance is a bit different.

Βρίσκω πάντα θέση.
Literally: I find always seat.
Meaning: I always manage to get a seat / I always find somewhere to sit.
Βρίσκω πάντα μια θέση.
Literally: I always find a seat.
Also correct and natural.

In general statements about what is usually possible, Greek often omits the indefinite article when we talk about having / finding / getting “a seat”, “work”, “water”, etc.:

Έχεις δουλειά; = Do you have a job / work?
Θέλεις νερό; = Do you want (some) water?

So βρίσκω πάντα θέση sounds slightly more generic and idiomatic: I always get a seat.
Adding μια is completely fine; it just makes “a seat” a bit more concrete.

What exactly does θέση mean here? Could I also say κάθισμα?

θέση is a very general word meaning place, position, seat, spot.
In this context, it means a seat in the bus.

βρίσκω θέση στο λεωφορείο = I find a seat on the bus.

κάθισμα is more like the physical seat / seat unit (the object). It’s used especially for car seats, airplane seats, etc.:

το κάθισμα του αυτοκινήτου = the car seat

You could say βρίσκω κάθισμα and be understood, but the natural, everyday phrase for getting a seat on public transport is with θέση:

Βρήκες θέση; = Did you get a seat?

Can we change the word order to Το λεωφορείο το πρωί είναι σχεδόν άδειο? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Το λεωφορείο το πρωί είναι σχεδόν άδειο και βρίσκω πάντα θέση.

This is grammatically correct and still means:

The bus in the morning is almost empty…

Differences:

Το πρωί το λεωφορείο…
Focus starts on the time (“in the morning”).
Το λεωφορείο το πρωί…
Focus starts on the bus, then specifies when.

So the main meaning is the same; it’s more about what you present first in the sentence (time vs subject). Both are natural.

Why is there no preposition like “in” or “at” before το πρωί, when in English we say “in the morning”?

Greek often uses a bare noun with an article to express time, without a preposition:

Το πρωί = in the morning
Το βράδυ = at night / in the evening
Το μεσημέρι = at noon / midday

So:

Το πρωί δουλεύω. = I work in the morning.
Το βράδυ διαβάζω. = In the evening I study.

You don’t say σε το πρωί (στο πρωί) for this meaning. The article το plus the time-of-day word is enough to express “at / in that time”.

If I want to say “In the morning the bus is almost empty so I don’t always find a seat”, how would I negate πάντα?

You place δεν before the verb, and leave πάντα after it:

Το πρωί το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο και δεν βρίσκω πάντα θέση.
= In the morning the bus is almost empty and I don’t always find a seat.

Compare:

Δεν βρίσκω πάντα θέση. = I don’t always find a seat. (sometimes yes, sometimes no)
Πάντα δεν βρίσκω θέση. – This is unusual and would sound like “I always don’t find a seat” (emphatic / marked, often avoided).

So for the natural meaning “not always”, the pattern is:

δεν + verb + πάντα + object
δεν βρίσκω πάντα θέση

Can you give a word-for-word breakdown of the Greek sentence?

Sentence: Το πρωί το λεωφορείο είναι σχεδόν άδειο και βρίσκω πάντα θέση.

Word-by-word:

Το – the (neuter, singular)
πρωί – morning
→ Το πρωί = in the morning
το – the (neuter, singular)
λεωφορείο – bus
→ το λεωφορείο = the bus
είναι – is
σχεδόν – almost
άδειο – empty (neuter, agrees with λεωφορείο)
και – and
βρίσκω – I find
πάντα – always
θέση – seat / place

So a very literal rendering would be:

The morning the bus is almost empty and I find always seat.
(= In the morning the bus is almost empty and I always find a seat.)