Abstract
Northern Chinese dialects use the word pa, in written language ,, as a means of changing the normal sequence of the words by bringing the direct object of a verb the beginning of the sentence. The origin of this construction has been explained, in what seems a very natural way, by the original meaning of the word pa: to take, grasp. The direct object of the verb is incorporated in a new sentence, where it becomes the object of pa and this group is prefixed the whole sentence. This is a very well-known fact in Chinese grammar and its counterpart in literary Chinese with . i and similar words has been the subject of many studies. I noticed, a few years ago, in a Shansi dialect a case of a similar prefix used even in sentences where no object seems occur. It is the subject of this paper.
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