△ trooper5774 （Chinese）

 【问】Lettie had never yet failed to return from town without some special treat for him.
(A sentence from Collins dictionary )

The Chinese sentence means 'Lettie could certainly return from town with some special treat for him.

But for the English sentence, isn't it supposed to be ' Lettie had never yet failed to return from town with some special treat for him'?
    The negative words 'never' & ' failed' confuse me a little bit. Thanks in advance.

△grassy （Warsaw，Polish）

【答】 The English sentence means: Lessie always returned from town with some special treat for him.

△Florentia52 (Wisconsin English - United States)

I agree with trooper5774. The sentence contains one too many negatives.

Lettie returned from town without some special treat for him. = He didn't get a treat.

Lettie never returned from town without some special treat for him. = He always got a treat.

Lettie had never yet failed to return from town without some special treat for him. = He never got a treat.

△Uncle Jack (Cumbria, UK British English)

I congratulate you (Florentia52). I read it the same way as grassy, but you are quite correct. "Never yet failed" is supposed to add emphasis; instead it turns it into gibberish.

Who is going to tell Collins? https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/treat