kinou wa tomodachi ni tegami o moraimashita.

I received a letter from my friend yesterday.

Breakdown of kinou wa tomodachi ni tegami o moraimashita.

• は: topic particle
• を: direct object particle
• 友とも達だち: friend

Questions & Answers about kinou wa tomodachi ni tegami o moraimashita.

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 sounds more natural in casual speech.