לא רק המורה, אלא גם התלמידים נתנו תגובה טובה להצעה.

Yes. לא רק ... אלא גם is the standard Hebrew pattern for not only ... but also.

• לא רק = not only
• אלא גם = but also

So:

• לא רק המורה, אלא גם התלמידים
  = not only the teacher, but also the students

It is best to learn it as a set expression, not as separate words translated one by one.

After לא רק, Hebrew normally uses אלא גם in this structure.

So the natural pattern is:

• לא רק X, אלא גם Y

Using אבל גם here would sound less standard and less natural in formal Hebrew.
Think of אלא גם as the expected partner of לא רק.

Because the sentence is divided into two matching parts:

• לא רק המורה
• אלא גם התלמידים

The comma helps separate those two parts, just like in English with not only ..., but also .... In modern Hebrew, this comma is very common and usually preferred.

Because the full subject is not just המורה. The whole subject is:

• לא רק המורה, אלא גם התלמידים

That means both the teacher and the students are included, so the subject is plural overall.
Because of that, the verb is plural:

• נתנו = gave / gave a response (plural)

If the sentence were only about the teacher, you would use a singular verb:

• המורה נתן = the male teacher gave
• המורה נתנה = the female teacher gave

נתנו is past tense.

In this sentence, it is third person plural:

• they gave

The dictionary form of the verb is לתת = to give.

This is a very common verb, but it is somewhat irregular, so learners often need extra practice with its forms.

It can mean either one.

In modern Hebrew, מורה can refer to:

• a male teacher
• a female teacher

The noun itself does not tell you the gender clearly in the singular. Usually, the verb or the context shows it:

• המורה נתן = the teacher was male
• המורה נתנה = the teacher was female

In your sentence, the verb is plural because of the combined subject, so the teacher’s gender is not shown.

Because ה- is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• מורה = teacher
• המורה = the teacher

and:

• תלמידים = students
• התלמידים = the students

Unlike English, Hebrew attaches the directly to the noun.

Because תגובה טובה is indefinite here: it means a good response, not the good response.

In Hebrew, את is usually used before a definite direct object.

So:

• נתנו תגובה טובה = they gave a good response
  no את, because it is indefinite

But:

• נתנו את התגובה הטובה = they gave the good response
  here את appears, because the object is definite

Because Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun in gender and number.

• תגובה is feminine singular
• so good must also be feminine singular
• therefore: טובה

Compare:

• טוב = masculine singular
• טובה = feminine singular
• טובים = masculine plural
• טובות = feminine plural

So תגובה טובה is correct agreement.

ל- is the preposition to or for.

So להצעה means:

• to a proposal
• or to the proposal

depending on context.

With the noun תגובה (response), Hebrew commonly uses ל to show what the response is directed toward:

• תגובה להצעה = a response to the proposal

One important detail: in normal Hebrew spelling without vowel marks, להצעה can look the same whether it means to a proposal or to the proposal. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

תלמידים is the masculine plural form of students.

It can refer to:

• an all-male group
• or a mixed group

If the group were all female, you would say:

• התלמידות = the female students

So the sentence would become:

• לא רק המורה, אלא גם התלמידות נתנו תגובה טובה להצעה

Notice that in the past tense, נתנו stays the same in writing here.

It is understandable and grammatically fine. However, many native speakers might choose a slightly more natural expression depending on the context, for example:

• נתנו תגובה חיובית להצעה = they gave a positive response to the proposal
• הגיבו בחיוב להצעה = they responded positively to the proposal

So תגובה טובה is okay, but it may sound a little less idiomatic than תגובה חיובית in some situations.

Yes. Hebrew allows some flexibility in word order.

For example, you could also say:

• לא רק המורה נתן/נתנה תגובה טובה להצעה, אלא גם התלמידים

That version makes the first part feel a little more explicit on its own.
The original sentence is also correct and natural:

• לא רק המורה, אלא גם התלמידים נתנו תגובה טובה להצעה.

Both versions express the same basic idea.