は after te form

Question

i have this sentence: 強く止めてはおいたものの、ばかなこと考えなければいいが

what function does this marked は have? how would the sentence change without it? is there some way to keep it in translation?

Answer 1

This is a type of contrastive-は that emphasizes the correctness of the statement. You don't have to always translate it, but you can keep the nuance in English translation using "at least" or "did":

• Although I at least stopped him strongly, ...
• Although I did stop him strongly, ...

This type of contrastive-は can be placed between a te-form and a subsidiary verb. Similar examples:

• 食べてはみます。
  = 食べてみはします。
  I'll try (eating) it, at least (although it doesn't look delicious).
• 教えてはもらった。
  = 教えてもらいはした。
  [Someone] did teach it to me / I did learn it (although I forgot it).
• 持ってはくるけど、本当に必要なの？
  = 持ってきはするけど、本当に必要なの？
  I will bring it, but is it really necessary?