Marta non solo chiede il permesso alla professoressa, ma anche le propone un titolo migliore.

It is the normal Italian pattern for not only ... but also ....

In this sentence, the two linked actions are:

• chiede il permesso
• le propone un titolo migliore

So Italian is pairing one action with another: Marta does one thing, and in addition she does a second thing. Just like in English, this structure is used to add emphasis.

Because both verbs have the same subject: Marta.

Italian does not usually repeat the subject if it is already clear, especially in coordinated clauses. So after Marta non solo chiede..., the second part naturally continues with ma anche le propone... without repeating Marta.

If you repeated the subject, it would sound more emphatic or heavier: Marta non solo chiede il permesso alla professoressa, ma Marta le propone anche... That is grammatical, but less natural here.

Because the common Italian expression is chiedere il permesso.

Italian often uses an article where English may not think about one as much. So il permesso is the normal form in this expression. In other words, chiedere il permesso is the idiomatic way to say to ask for permission.

Because il permesso is the direct object of chiede.

The pattern is: chiedere qualcosa a qualcuno

So in this sentence:

• il permesso = the thing being asked for
• alla professoressa = the person being asked

English uses ask for permission, but Italian simply says chiedere il permesso.

It is the indirect object: to the teacher/professor.

With chiedere, Italian commonly uses this pattern: chiedere qualcosa a qualcuno

So:

• chiede il permesso = asks permission
• alla professoressa = from/to the teacher

Also, alla is just the contraction of a + la.

Here le means to her.

It refers back to alla professoressa. Instead of repeating alla professoressa again in the second clause, Italian uses the indirect object pronoun le.

So the structure is: proporre qualcosa a qualcuno

In this sentence:

• le = to her
• un titolo migliore = the thing being proposed

Because the teacher is not the direct object here; she is the indirect object.

The verb pattern is: proporre qualcosa a qualcuno
= to propose/suggest something to someone

So:

• un titolo migliore is the direct object
• le is the indirect object, meaning to her

If you used la, that would make her/it the direct object, which is not what the sentence means.

Because unstressed object pronouns usually go before a conjugated verb in Italian.

So you get:

• le propone
• gli scrive
• mi parla

This is one of the most basic word-order rules for Italian pronouns. If the verb were an infinitive, the pronoun could attach to it instead, but with propone it comes before the verb.

Yes, sometimes Italian can move anche, but the meaning focus changes slightly.

This sentence has: ma anche le propone un titolo migliore

A very common alternative would be: ma le propone anche un titolo migliore

Both are natural. The difference is mostly about what is being emphasized. In the original sentence, anche helps balance the non solo ... ma anche ... structure very clearly.

In ordinary Italian, comparative adjectives like migliore often come after the noun.

So un titolo migliore is the most neutral, everyday way to say it.

Un migliore titolo is possible, but it sounds more marked, literary, or stylistically special. For a learner, it is safest to treat un titolo migliore as the standard choice.

Because the sentence joins two full coordinated clauses, and the comma helps separate them clearly.

The first clause is: Marta non solo chiede il permesso alla professoressa

The second is: ma anche le propone un titolo migliore

In Italian, this comma is very natural here, especially because the sentence is a bit long. In shorter sentences, punctuation can sometimes vary, but this comma is perfectly standard.