私は先生に日本語を教えてもらいました。
- I was taught Japanese by my teacher.

私は先生に日本語を教えてもらいました。 meaning: I had Japanese taught to me by the teacher.

⚫︎ The basic sentence structure in Japanese is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). ⚫︎ 私 (watashi) means "I" and is the subject of the sentence. It is marked by the topic particle は (wa). ⚫︎ 先生 (sensei) means "teacher". The particle に (ni) indicates the indirect object or the person/thing the action is directed towards in this case. ⚫︎ 日本語 (nihongo) means "Japanese language". The particle を (o) marks the direct object. ⚫︎ The verb 教えてもらいました (oshiete moraimashita) means "was taught" or "received the action of teaching." It is at the end of the sentence.

⚫︎ This sentence uses a combination of the passive voice and the ～てもらう (te-morau) form. ⚫︎ The passive voice is formed by changing the verb. ⚫︎ 教える (oshieru - to teach) becomes 教えられる (os-shierareru - to be taught). ⚫︎ ～てもらう (te-morau) means "to receive the favor of someone doing something for you." It implies that someone does something for the speaker. ⚫︎ The basic form is V-te + もらう. ⚫︎ In this case, it is: 教えて (oshiete - teach (stem)) + もらう (morau - to receive), with the passive voice added. The past tense もらいました (moraimashita) is used to show that the action happened in the past. ⚫︎ Example: ⚫︎ 先生は私に宿題を手伝ってくれました。 (Sensei wa watashi ni shukudai o tetsudatte kuremashita.) - The teacher helped me with my homework. (Teacher did me a favor).

⚫︎ に (ni): ⚫︎ Indicates the indirect object, the recipient or the person/thing receiving the action. In this sentence, it shows who did the action. ⚫︎ Can also indicate time or location. ⚫︎ Example: 私は学校に行きます。 (Watashi wa gakkou ni ikimasu.) - I go to school. (Location) ⚫︎ を (o): ⚫︎ Marks the direct object, the thing being acted upon. ⚫︎ In this sentence, it indicates what was taught (Japanese). ⚫︎ Example: 私は本を読みます。 (Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.) - I read a book.

⚫︎ The verb in the sentence, 教えてもらいました (oshiete moraimashita), is in the past tense. ⚫︎ To make a verb past tense, you typically add ました (mashita) to the polite form (masu-form) of the verb. ⚫︎ 教えます (oshiemasu - teach) changes to 教えました (oshiemashita - taught). ⚫︎ In this case, because of the combination with the passive voice and ～てもらう (te-morau) the conjugation is slightly different but still indicates past tense.

⚫︎ This sentence uses polite form (です/ます form) with the verb. ⚫︎ The polite form, is indicated by the "-masu" ending. In the past tense, this changes to "-mashita." ⚫︎ This form is used to show respect to the listener. ⚫︎ 教えてもらいました (oshiete moraimashita) is the polite past tense of the verb. ⚫︎ Basic verb forms are important to understand: ⚫︎ Dictionary form: 教える (oshieru) ⚫︎ Present polite form: 教えます (oshiemasu) ⚫︎ Present negative polite form: 教えません (oshiemasen) ⚫︎ Past polite form: 教えました (oshiemashita) ⚫︎ Past negative polite form: 教えませんでした (oshiemasen deshita)