Questions & Answers about Nein, ich trinke Kaffee.
I know German verbs go in the second position. Since this sentence starts with Nein, isn't the verb trinke in the third position?
Words like Ja (yes) and Nein (no) that are set off by a comma at the beginning of a sentence do not count as a position. The core sentence actually starts with the subject ich (position 1), meaning the verb trinke is exactly where it belongs in position 2!
Since this lesson is about Yes/No questions, how would I ask "Do you drink coffee?" to get this answer?
To form a Yes/No question in German, you move the verb to the very front of the sentence (Verb-first or V1 order). Instead of the statement "Du trinkst Kaffee" (You drink coffee), you simply swap the first two words to ask "Trinkst du Kaffee?"
Does ich trinke mean "I drink" or "I am drinking"?
It translates to both! German doesn't have a separate "am doing" form like English does. Depending on the situation, "Ich trinke Kaffee" can mean "I drink coffee" (as a general habit) or "I am drinking coffee" (right now).
Why is Kaffee capitalized here?
In German, every single noun (a person, place, thing, or concept) is capitalized, no matter where it is in the sentence. Since Kaffee (coffee) is a thing, it always gets a capital K.