По утрам моя жена любит овсянку с черникой, а я чаще выбираю чай со смородиной.

По утрам means in the mornings / every morning / mornings in general. It expresses a habitual, repeated time.

By contrast, утром usually means in the morning for a specific occasion or just the time of day in a more neutral sense.

• Утром я пил чай. = I drank tea in the morning.
• По утрам я пью чай. = I drink tea in the mornings.

So in your sentence, по утрам fits because the speaker is talking about a routine.

Утрам is dative plural of утро.

The expression по утрам is a very common Russian time expression built with по + dative, often used to mean at certain times regularly:

• по утрам = in the mornings
• по вечерам = in the evenings
• по выходным = on weekends

It is best learned as a set pattern for habitual time.

Моя жена is the normal, neutral way to say my wife.

Russian word order is flexible, so жена моя is possible, but it sounds more marked, literary, emotional, contrastive, or stylistically different. For everyday neutral speech, моя жена is the standard order.

So:

• моя жена = neutral
• жена моя = possible, but not the default here

Because овсянка is the direct object of любит.

The verb любить takes the accusative case, and овсянка is a feminine noun, so its accusative singular changes:

• nominative: овсянка
• accusative: овсянку

So:

• моя жена любит овсянку = my wife likes oatmeal

It is also in the accusative, because it is the object of выбираю. But чай is a masculine inanimate noun, and for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative: чай
• accusative: чай

That is why you do not see a visible change, even though the case is still accusative.

After с / со in the sense of with, Russian normally uses the instrumental case.

So:

• черника → с черникой
• смородина → со смородиной

This structure is very common:

• чай с лимоном = tea with lemon
• каша с ягодами = porridge with berries
• бутерброд с сыром = sandwich with cheese

In your sentence, it means oatmeal/tea with those ingredients or flavors.

Russian uses со instead of с when it is easier to pronounce before certain consonant clusters.

С смородиной would sound awkward because of the с + см combination, so Russian prefers:

• со смородиной

But с черникой is easy to pronounce, so plain с is used there.

This is mainly about pronunciation and flow.

Here а is the natural choice because it sets up a contrast between two people or two habits, not a strong contradiction.

• моя жена любит... , а я выбираю... = my wife likes..., while/as for me, I more often choose...

Но usually means but in a stronger sense of contradiction or unexpected contrast.

Compare:

• Она любит овсянку, а я люблю яйца. = She likes oatmeal, while I like eggs.
• Я хотел чай, но чая не было. = I wanted tea, but there was no tea.

So а here is the standard conjunction for a calm comparison or contrast.

Чаще means more often.

In this sentence:

• я чаще выбираю чай = I more often choose tea

It modifies the verb выбираю and tells us about frequency.

Russian adverbs like чаще can move around somewhat, but position can affect emphasis:

• Я чаще выбираю чай... = neutral
• Я выбираю чай чаще... = also possible, slightly different rhythm/emphasis

The sentence as given sounds natural and neutral.

Выбираю means I choose or I tend to choose. It highlights preference among options.

So the contrast is slightly nuanced:

• моя жена любит овсянку... = my wife likes oatmeal...
• а я чаще выбираю чай... = and I more often choose tea...

This suggests a habitual preference rather than just the physical act of drinking.

If the speaker said я чаще пью чай, that would mean I more often drink tea, which is also possible, but it focuses more on the action than on the choice.

In Russian, the present tense is commonly used for habitual actions as well as actions happening right now.

So:

• любит = likes / loves
• выбираю = choose / am choosing

In this context, they mean general repeated behavior:

• моя жена любит... = my wife likes...
• я чаще выбираю... = I more often choose...

This is very similar to English simple present for habits.

Russian does not have articles like a/an or the.

So nouns appear without them:

• жена = wife / the wife / a wife
• чай = tea / the tea
• овсянка = oatmeal / the oatmeal

Context tells you which interpretation is intended. In your sentence, English naturally uses no article or uses one depending on style, but Russian simply does not mark that distinction with separate words.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In food and drink phrases, с + instrumental often means:

• containing it
• served with it
• flavored with it

So:

• овсянка с черникой could be oatmeal with actual blueberries/bilberries mixed in
• чай со смородиной could be tea with currants, currant jam, currant flavoring, or something currant-based, depending on the situation

Russian often leaves that kind of detail to context unless it needs to be specified more precisely.

Yes, but mostly in terms of emphasis rather than basic grammar.

The sentence starts with По утрам, which sets the scene: in the mornings. Then it gives the two contrasting parts:

• моя жена любит овсянку с черникой
• а я чаще выбираю чай со смородиной

This word order is natural because it goes:

1. time frame
2. first person/habit
3. contrast
4. second person/habit

Russian allows other orders, but this version sounds smooth and standard for everyday speech.