El panadero del barrio siempre me saluda por la mañana.

Del is the normal contraction of de + el in Spanish.

• de + el = del
• So del barrio literally comes from de el barrio

This contraction is required in normal Spanish, so de el barrio would sound wrong here.

A common exception is when El is part of a proper name, for example de El Escorial.

Here, del barrio identifies which baker we mean: the baker from the neighborhood or more naturally in English, the neighborhood baker / the baker in the area.

It does not necessarily mean possession, as if the neighborhood owns the baker. In Spanish, de often shows association or origin, not just possession.

So:

• el panadero del barrio = the baker in my/the neighborhood

Spanish often uses the definite article where English might also use the.

So El panadero means the baker. In this sentence, it refers to a specific baker that the speaker has in mind, not just any baker.

Compare:

• Un panadero = a baker
• El panadero = the baker

Because the sentence is about a known, specific person, el is the natural choice.

The verb is saludar = to greet.

Here it is conjugated for:

• third person singular
• present tense

because the subject is El panadero del barrio = the baker, which is he.

So:

• yo saludo = I greet
• tú saludas = you greet
• él/ella saluda = he/she greets

That is why the sentence has saluda.

In Spanish, object pronouns usually come before a conjugated verb.

So:

• me saluda = greets me
• te saluda = greets you
• nos saluda = greets us

This is very normal Spanish word order.

With a fully conjugated verb, the pronoun usually goes in front:

• Siempre me saluda

But with infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands, pronouns can attach to the end:

• saludarme
• saludándome
• salúdame

Here, me is a direct object pronoun.

That can surprise English speakers, because with people, Spanish often uses the personal a:

• Saluda a la vecina = He greets the neighbor

But the person being greeted is still the direct object.

So in this sentence:

• me = me as the direct object
• El panadero ... me saluda = The baker greets me

Good question. With a full noun, Spanish usually uses the personal a before a person:

• Saluda a Marta
• Saluda al vecino

But when that person is replaced by an object pronoun like me, te, lo, la, nos, etc., you do not keep the a.

So:

• Saluda a Marta → La saluda
• Saluda a mí is not normal here
• Me saluda is correct

You can add a mí only for emphasis:

• Siempre me saluda a mí but that is not needed in the basic sentence.

Siempre usually goes before the verb phrase, and Siempre me saluda is a very natural order.

So this sentence structure is completely standard:

• El panadero del barrio siempre me saluda por la mañana.

You can sometimes move siempre:

• El panadero del barrio me saluda siempre por la mañana.

That is still correct, but the original version sounds more neutral and natural for many learners to copy.

In Spanish from Spain, por la mañana is the normal expression for in the morning.

Similarly:

• por la tarde = in the afternoon
• por la noche = at night / in the evening

In some varieties of Latin American Spanish, en la mañana can also be heard, but in Spain por la mañana is the usual choice.

So if you are learning Spanish from Spain, por la mañana is the expression to remember.

After expressions like por, Spanish normally uses the definite article with parts of the day:

• por la mañana
• por la tarde
• por la noche

That is simply how the expression works in Spanish. English says in the morning; Spanish says por la mañana.

Be careful, because mañana by itself can also mean tomorrow, depending on context.
So:

• por la mañana = in the morning
• mañana = tomorrow

Yes. Spanish often omits subject pronouns or even the whole subject noun phrase when the context makes it clear.

So if everyone already knows we are talking about the baker, you could say:

• Siempre me saluda por la mañana.

That would still mean He always greets me in the morning.

In the full sentence, El panadero del barrio is included because the speaker wants to state clearly who is doing the greeting.

A Spain pronunciation guide would be roughly:

• barrio ≈ BA-rryo
• saluda ≈ sa-LOO-da

A few useful details:

• rr in barrio is a rolled or trilled r
• ll is not in this sentence, so no issue there
• the d in saluda, between vowels, is often pronounced softly in natural speech

The stress is:

• barrio → stress on BA
• saluda → stress on LU

So:

• BA-rryo
• sa-LU-da