Breakdown of Mestariteos ei ainoastaan häikäise, vaan se on myös läpimurto.
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
myös
also
ei
no / not (negative verb)
Questions & Answers about Mestariteos ei ainoastaan häikäise, vaan se on myös läpimurto.
Why is myös separated from vaan by se on?
When linking two full clauses with ei ainoastaan ... vaan myös, the word myös doesn't have to sit right next to vaan. It usually places itself just before the new information it is highlighting. Here, vaan acts as the conjunction starting the second clause, followed by the subject and verb (se on), and then myös introduces the core new point (läpimurto).
Why is the verb häikäise missing its final letter? Shouldn't "it dazzles" be häikäisee?
Because the phrase ei ainoastaan contains the negative verb ei, the main verb in that clause must still take its negative form. To make the negative form of häikäisee, you drop the vowel lengthening at the end, leaving you with the connegative form häikäise.
Could I use mutta instead of vaan for "but" in this structure?
Since both halves of the sentence are about the masterpiece, why do we need the pronoun se in the second part?