What does はもってmean in this conversation?


A: コートをもっていますか？  
B: ええ、もっています。  
A: じゃ、せびろももっていますか？  
B: いいえ、せびろ **はもって** いません。




This は (pronounced as _wa_ ) is the topic-marking particle. もって is the te-form
of もつ, and is a part of もっていません ("(I) do not have").

In the last sentence, せびろ ("a suit") is the object of もっていません ("I don't
have"), but は must be used instead of を, because せびろ is being contrasted with
the previous topic (コート). If B said せびろ **を** もっていません in this context, it
would sound awfully unnatural to Japanese ears.

See also:

  * [Japanese with Anime - Contrastive _wa_](https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/07/contrastive-wa.html)
  * [Particle は replacing を - where does the stress lie?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/14708/5010)
  * [Why can は and を sometimes be used interchangeably?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/23378/5010)

