Questions & Answers about Tko nikada ne pije pivo?
Wait, why are there two negative words here (nikada and ne)? Doesn't that mean "Who never doesn't drink beer"?
In Croatian, you have to use a "double negative." When you use a negative word like nikada (never), ništa (nothing), or nitko (nobody), you still must put ne directly in front of the verb. So nikada ne pije literally translates to "never doesn't drink," but to a Croatian speaker, it simply means "never drinks." This double negation is a strict rule in the language.
Can I separate ne and pije, for example saying Tko ne nikada pije pivo?
No, the negative particle ne must go immediately before the verb it negates. They act like a glued-together pair, so the word order in this sentence always has to be nikada ne pije.
Why is the verb pije in the "he/she/it" form when we don't know who we are asking about?
Just like in English (where we say "Who drinks," not "Who drink"), the question word tko (who) always triggers the third-person singular form of the verb. That is why we use pije (he/she/it drinks).
Since pivo (beer) is the object being drunk, shouldn't its ending change?