Họ không những giỏi mà còn có bằng cấp.

It creates the structure not only ... but also ....

So in Họ không những giỏi mà còn có bằng cấp, the speaker is adding a second positive point:

• không những giỏi = not only are they talented / good
• mà còn có bằng cấp = but they also have qualifications

A very important detail: even though không usually means not, this whole sentence is not negative. It is an affirmative pattern used to emphasize two good qualities.

No. In this sentence, không is part of the fixed expression không những ... mà còn ....

So you should not read it as:

• they are not good

Instead, you should read the whole pattern together:

• not only good, but also...

This is a common point of confusion for English speakers, because không often means simple negation, but here it is part of a correlative structure.

Yes, họ usually means they or them, referring to a group of people.

A few useful notes:

• It is a third-person plural pronoun
• It is fairly neutral in tone
• It usually refers to people, not things

In context, họ can sometimes sound a little more formal or detached than spoken alternatives, depending on the situation, but they is the correct basic translation here.

Vietnamese often does not use a copula like to be in sentences with adjectives.

So:

• Họ giỏi = They are good / talented

There is no need for a separate word meaning are here.

This is very normal in Vietnamese. Adjectives can function directly as predicates.

For example:

• Cô ấy đẹp = She is beautiful
• Anh ấy bận = He is busy
• Họ giỏi = They are talented

English speakers often expect something like là, but là is generally not used before adjectives like giỏi.

Because giỏi is an adjective, and Vietnamese usually does not use là before adjectives in this kind of sentence.

Compare:

• Họ giỏi = They are talented
• Họ là giáo viên = They are teachers

Use là mainly when linking the subject to a noun phrase, especially for identification or classification.

So:

• giỏi = adjective → no là
• giáo viên = noun → often uses là

That is why Họ không những giỏi... sounds natural, while Họ không những là giỏi... would be unnatural.

Giỏi usually means good at something, talented, skilled, or sometimes excellent.

Its exact nuance depends on context. It can refer to:

• intelligence
• ability
• professional skill
• academic strength

In this sentence, giỏi is fairly broad. It suggests that the people are capable or impressive, and the second half adds that they also have formal qualifications.

If you want to be more specific in Vietnamese, you often add a field:

• giỏi tiếng Anh = good at English
• giỏi chuyên môn = professionally skilled
• học giỏi = good at studying / academically strong

But here, giỏi stands alone and means something like capable or talented in a general sense.

Bằng cấp refers to academic qualifications, diplomas, certificates, or degrees.

It is broader than just one university degree. Depending on context, it can include:

• diplomas
• certificates
• educational credentials
• formal qualifications

So có bằng cấp means something like:

• have qualifications
• have credentials
• have academic credentials

If you translated it only as have degrees, that may be fine in some contexts, but bằng cấp is slightly broader than that.

Because có means to have.

So:

• có bằng cấp = have qualifications / possess credentials

This is straightforward Vietnamese sentence structure:

• họ ... có bằng cấp = they have qualifications

The sentence is contrasting two different positive qualities:

• giỏi = they are talented
• có bằng cấp = they have formal qualifications

One is a quality, and the other is possession of credentials.

Yes. Không chỉ ... mà còn ... is a very common alternative and means essentially the same thing:

• Họ không chỉ giỏi mà còn có bằng cấp.

This is very natural Vietnamese.

Common variants include:

• không những ... mà còn ...
• không chỉ ... mà còn ...
• sometimes không những ... mà ... in less careful speech or writing

The version with không những can sound slightly more formal or emphatic, but both are widely used.

A literal word-by-word reading is not very helpful, but roughly:

• mà = but / and
• còn = still / also / in addition

In this structure, however, mà còn works as a set phrase meaning something like:

• but also
• and furthermore

So it is best to learn không những ... mà còn ... as one grammatical pattern rather than trying to interpret each word separately every time.

Yes. The order helps create the not only ... but also ... structure clearly.

The pattern is:

• Subject + không những + first quality/action + mà còn + second quality/action

So here:

• Họ = subject
• không những giỏi = not only talented
• mà còn có bằng cấp = but also have qualifications

If you change the order too much, the sentence may sound unnatural or the emphasis may become unclear.

It sounds fairly neutral to slightly formal.

Why?

• không những ... mà còn ... is a polished, standard written/spoken structure
• bằng cấp is a somewhat formal word for qualifications or credentials

So this sentence would fit well in:

• descriptions of employees
• academic or professional discussion
• formal conversation
• writing

In very casual speech, people might choose simpler wording, but this sentence is completely natural and standard.

Yes, very often it does.

The sentence suggests that the people are impressive in more than one way:

• they are giỏi: capable, talented, good at what they do
• they có bằng cấp: they also have official educational credentials

This can imply something like:

• They are not only actually competent, but also formally qualified.

That is often the communicative effect of this sentence.