受ける: receiving a birthday gift and taking an exam
Use the gift and certification-exam objects to distinguish receiving from taking an exam, retaining the birthday event and next-month plan.
The gift and exam select different actions
受ける (うける) means to receive or take an exam. With 贈り物 as its object, it describes receiving a gift; with 資格試験, it describes taking an examination.
First identify the action from its object. Then retain the stated status: the gift was received on a birthday, while taking the certification exam is planned for next month.
The birthday event and the next-month plan
「誕生日に友人から贈り物を受けた。」 (I received a gift from a friend on my birthday.) The birthday gift was actually received from a friend. 贈り物を受けた describes receiving an object, and 友人から identifies the source of that gift.
「来月、資格試験を受ける予定だ。」 (I plan to take a certification exam next month.) 資格試験を受ける means taking the certification exam. 来月 and 予定だ keep it as a plan for next month, rather than a completed qualification or an exam already passed.
Keep the object's meaning and the action status
Treating both objects as things received would lose the examination sense of 資格試験を受ける. Identify the gift receipt and the exam-taking action from their respective objects.
After distinguishing those actions, retain the past event in 受けた and the plan in 受ける予定だ. The future examination supplies no completed attempt, pass or acquisition of a qualification.
Do receiving 贈り物 and taking 資格試験 both mean receiving a physical object?
Show the answer and why
The first means receiving a gift from a friend; the second means taking a certification exam. The exam is planned for next month, without a reported pass or a received qualification.