Breakdown of Hän ei ole ainoastaan lahjakas laulaja, vaan myös todellinen monilahjakkuus.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
myös
also
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
Questions & Answers about Hän ei ole ainoastaan lahjakas laulaja, vaan myös todellinen monilahjakkuus.
Why do we use vaan instead of mutta in this sentence?
Even though both mean "but", vaan is required when correcting or contrasting a negative statement. Since the first part of the sentence uses the negative verb ei, the fixed pair for "not only... but also" is always ei ainoastaan ... vaan myös.
Where should the main verb go when using the ei ainoastaan ... vaan myös structure?
The negative verb (here, ei ole) comes before ainoastaan. This perfectly mirrors the English structure: "is not only" translates directly to ei ole ainoastaan. The two parallel elements being linked (lahjakas laulaja and todellinen monilahjakkuus) then directly follow the two halves of the conjunction.
How is the word monilahjakkuus built?
It combines moni (multi/many) and the noun lahjakkuus (talent/giftedness). Notice how the adjective lahjakas (talented) from the first half of the sentence is turned into an abstract noun by adding the suffix -uus, which works just like adding "-ness" in English.
Why are the describing phrases lahjakas laulaja and todellinen monilahjakkuus in the nominative case rather than the partitive?