Questions & Answers about Ich trinke nie Kaffee.
Why does nie come after the verb, instead of before it like in English?
In English we say 'I never drink', but German sentence structure is very strict about verbs. In a normal statement, the main verb is always in the second position. Because Ich takes up position 1, the verb trinke must be in position 2. This pushes the adverb of frequency, nie, to the spot right after the verb.
Do I need to use nicht to make the sentence negative?
No. Just like the English word 'never', the word nie makes the sentence negative all by itself. You do not need to add nicht.
Why isn't there an article like einen before Kaffee?
When you are talking generally about a category of food or drink, you can leave out the article in German. This works exactly like English: you say 'I never drink coffee' instead of 'I never drink a coffee' when talking about your general habits.
Why is Kaffee capitalized even though it is at the end of the sentence?
In German, every single noun (a word for a person, place, or thing) is always capitalized, no matter where it appears in the sentence.