What sentences are these?

Question

Hello. I have questions about these 2 sentences:

1. While studying in the University of Alabama, he decided to become a novelist

Does the first sentence have a participle clause? If yes, where?

2.Not only is he a fast runner, but also a genius in maths and even takes part in a ping-pong championship.

Does the second sentence have inversion?

Answer 1

1) Eliminate the second clause from consideration because it is a common declarative independent clause (he decided to become a novelist). The opening clause has a subordinating conjunction (while) followed by a present participle (studying). That's a marker of a participle clause.

2) If by inversion, you mean inversion of normal word order, it's certainly in this sentence. English most commonly has the following order: subject-verb-object (or other predicate material). The first clause of this sentence put back in the more common order would read, "He is not only a fast runner..." Note that the subject (he) and the verb (is) are inverted in the original.

Hope this helps!