Learn Hardcore German: Ich war noch nie im Zoo. - I have never been to the zoo.

In English, you normally say: I have never been to the zoo (present perfect).
In German, this idea (life experience up to now) can be expressed with either:

Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
Ich bin noch nie im Zoo gewesen.

Both sentences are correct and natural.
Which one you hear more depends on region and style:

In spoken German, many regions prefer the Perfekt:
Ich bin noch nie im Zoo gewesen.
In written German (and also some spoken dialects, especially in the north), the Präteritum with war is very common:
Ich war noch nie im Zoo.

In meaning, there is no real difference here: both mean I have never been to the zoo (in my life).

Exactly what does noch add? How is Ich war nie im Zoo different from Ich war noch nie im Zoo?

Both sentences are grammatically correct, but noch changes the nuance.

Ich war nie im Zoo.
Literally: I was never in the zoo.
→ A plain statement of never at any time in your life.
Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
Literally: I was still never in the zoo.
→ Means I have never been to the zoo (up to now) and often implies:
…but I could still go one day.

So:

nie = never
noch nie = never (up to this point in time, not yet at any point)

In practice, noch nie is the more natural choice when you talk about life experience so far, like English have never.

What is the difference between noch nie and noch nicht?

They both involve noch (still / yet), but they are not interchangeable:

noch nie = never (so far / up to now)
- Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
  → I have never been to the zoo (in my life, up to now).
noch nicht = not yet (but possibly later)
- Ich war noch nicht im Zoo.
  → I haven’t been to the zoo yet (but I might still go soon).

So:

noch nie talks about your entire life so far.
noch nicht talks about a current, unfinished situation (the expectation that it will happen later is stronger).

Why is it im Zoo and not in dem Zoo or in den Zoo?

There are two separate points here:

Contraction: im = in dem
- im Zoo is a fixed contraction of in dem Zoo.
- In normal German, you must contract it:
  - ✅ im Zoo
  - ❌ in dem Zoo (sounds overly formal / archaic in most contexts)
Case: Why dem and not den?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. It can take:
- Accusative (movement towards a place)
- Dative (location / being inside a place)
Examples:
- Ich gehe in den Zoo. (Accusative: den)
  → I am going to the zoo. (movement towards)
- Ich war im Zoo. = Ich war in dem Zoo. (Dative: dem)
  → I was in/at the zoo. (location, no movement)

So im Zoo = in dem Zoo (dative, location) and matches the meaning being in the zoo, not going to the zoo.

What case is Zoo in, and why?

Zoo is in the dative singular:

The base form is der Zoo (masculine, nominative).
Dative singular masculine is dem Zoo.
With in meaning in / at (location), you must use the dative:
- in dem Zoo → contracted → im Zoo.

So the structure is:

in (preposition of location) + dem (dative article) + Zoo
→ contracted: im Zoo.

Could I say in einem Zoo instead of im Zoo? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can, and it slightly changes the focus:

Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
Literally: I have never been in the zoo.
→ In practice, usually understood as “I’ve never been to the zoo” (general idea of zoos, not necessarily one concrete zoo).
Ich war noch nie in einem Zoo.
Literally: I have never been in a zoo (any zoo).
→ Stresses that you have never visited any zoo at all.

In everyday conversation, im Zoo is very commonly used with a general meaning, so most of the time both sentences will be understood the same way.
If you really want to emphasize not even one single zoo, in einem Zoo can make that a bit clearer.

Can the word order change? Is something like Ich noch nie war im Zoo possible?

Ich noch nie war im Zoo is wrong word order.

Some correct variants and what they sound like:

Standard:
- Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
  → Neutral, most common.
Fronting the adverbial for emphasis:
- Noch nie war ich im Zoo.
  → Emphasizes never ever: “Never in my life have I been to the zoo.”
Keeping noch nie together is important.
Variants like:
- ❌ Ich war im Zoo noch nie. (very awkward / unnatural in standard German)
- ❌ Ich noch nie war im Zoo.

So good rules of thumb:

Keep noch nie together as a block.
In neutral sentences, put that block after the verb:
Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
For emphasis, you can put noch nie at the start:
Noch nie war ich im Zoo.

Why is Zoo capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of position in the sentence.

Zoo is a noun (masculine: der Zoo), so it must always be written with a capital Z, even in the middle of a sentence:
- Ich war noch nie im Zoo.
- Der Zoo ist groß.
- Wir fahren morgen in den Zoo.

This is a standard rule of German spelling: all nouns and nominalized words start with a capital letter.

How do you pronounce the words war, nie, and Zoo?

Approximate English-based descriptions:

war
- Sounds like var (with a clear v sound, not an English w).
- IPA: [vaːɐ̯]
- Long a sound, like in father.
nie
- Sounds like English “knee”.
- IPA: [niː]
Zoo
- In standard German, like English “ts-oh” (starting with ts).
- IPA: [tsoː]
- Not like English “zoo” with a z sound, but with an initial ts (as in tsunami).

So: Ich war noch nie im Zoo roughly:
Ish var noch nee im tsoh (very rough, English-style approximation).

Can I drop ich like in some other languages, or say War noch nie im Zoo?

No. In standard German, you cannot normally drop the subject pronoun.

❌ War noch nie im Zoo.
→ Ungrammatical in standard German.

You must include ich:

✅ Ich war noch nie im Zoo.

What you can do is invert subject and verb for emphasis or in questions, but you still keep ich:

Noch nie war ich im Zoo. (emphasis)
Warst du schon mal im Zoo? (question: Have you ever been to the zoo?)

German is not a “pro‑drop” language like Spanish or Italian; the subject pronoun is generally required.