Learn Italian: Non solo il complimento è sincero, ma l'artista ne è anche lusingato. - Not only is the compliment sincere, but the artist is also flattered by it.

In this sentence, ne acts as a propositional pronoun meaning 'by it' or 'by this fact.' Instead of just replacing a single noun, it replaces a phrase starting with di (of/about) and refers back to the entire preceding clause. It shows the artist is flattered by the specific fact that the compliment is sincere.

Why is anche separated from ma and placed after the verb?

While we say 'not only... but also' in English, Italian often splits ma and anche in the structure non solo... ma... anche. The word anche usually sits immediately before the specific word it emphasizes. Here, it emphasizes the adjective lusingato, so it naturally falls after the verb è.

Does lusingato normally take the preposition di?

Yes! To say you are flattered by a situation or a fact, you use essere lusingato di. Because ne is used to replace phrases introduced by di (or da), it steps in perfectly here to replace 'di questo fatto' (by this fact).

Why does ne come before the verb è instead of attaching to lusingato?