What is the grammatical function of はしたが?

Question

In this sentence,

司令官【しれいかん】は軍刀【ぐんとう】を手【て】にはしたが、すぐに小野田【おのだ】さんに返【かえ】した

The commander took the sword in his hand but immediately returned it to Mr. Onoda.

You are parsing it wrong, I think. This is particle は.
– Angelos
Commented Mar 29 at 9:56 — Angelos, Commented Mar 29 at 9:56

sundowner · Accepted Answer · 2024-03-29 10:17:58Z

4

It is 手にした with は inserted.

は puts focus/emphasis to the whole verb phrase 手にした, so it sounds like The commander did take the sword... whereas 手にした=took the sword.

answered Mar 29 at 10:17

sundowner

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