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kinou ha tomodati ni tegami wo moraimasita.

昨日きのう　は　友達ともだち　に　手紙てがみ　を　もらいました。kinou ha tomodati ni tegami wo moraimasita.
I received a letter from my friend yesterday.
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Questions & Answers about kinou ha tomodati ni tegami wo moraimasita.

Why is は used after 昨日 instead of に to mark time?
Because time expressions can also act as topics in Japanese. Using は turns 昨日 into the sentence’s topic—“As for yesterday…”—and often adds a nuance of focus or contrast (e.g. “yesterday in particular…”). While 昨日に is grammatically acceptable, native speakers typically either drop に (昨日手紙をもらいました) or replace it with は to set the time phrase as the topic.
Why is 友達に used rather than 友達から for “from a friend”?

With verbs like もらう (to receive), the giver is commonly marked by に because they function as an indirect object:

  • 友達に手紙をもらいました (“I received a letter from a friend.”)
    You can also say 友達から手紙をもらいました using から (“from”), but に is the more idiomatic choice in the もらう construction. Using から isn’t wrong—it just emphasizes the source more directly.
Why do we say 手紙をもらいました and not 手紙を受け取りました? Are they interchangeable?

Both verbs mean “to receive,” but they have different nuances:

  • もらう focuses on the interpersonal act of receiving from someone and is very common in everyday conversation.
  • 受け取る is more formal or neutral and often emphasizes physically taking or accepting something.
    You can use 受け取りました in official or written contexts, but もらいました sounds more natural in casual speech.
The subject “I” isn’t stated. Is that correct?
Yes. Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, since you’re talking about something that happened to you, I (the speaker) is understood. If you wanted to be explicit, you could say 私は昨日友達に手紙をもらいました, but leaving it out is more natural.
Can I reorder the elements? For example, 昨日手紙を友達にもらいました?

Japanese word order is fairly flexible, but the most natural sequence is:

  1. Topic/Time (昨日は)
  2. Indirect object (友達に)
  3. Direct object (手紙を)
  4. Verb (もらいました)
    You can swap 手紙を and 友達に—昨日は手紙を友達にもらいました—but that shifts slight emphasis onto 手紙. Unusual orderings may sound marked or poetic, though they remain understandable.
How do I say this sentence in the plain (casual) form?

Switch the polite past もらいました to the plain past もらった:
昨日は友達に手紙をもらった。

What if I want to emphasize 友達 as the topic? (“As for my friend, I received a letter yesterday.”)

You can use the contrastive/topic marker には on 友達:
友達には昨日手紙をもらいました。
This construction highlights 友達 (“as for my friend…”) and often implies a nuance of contrast or emphasis.