Does this sound ok?

Question

Does this sound awkward?

Esta mañana busqué mis zapatos de trabajo, pero no pude encontrarlos. Entonces, tuve que comprar de nuevos.

I'm trying to say... This morning I looked for my work shoes but I couldn't find them, so I had to buy new ones. Also, I was wondering if you would say "busqué mis zapatos", or "busqué para mis zapatos".

Thanks in advance

buscar means "look for": never use para or por. - lorenzo9, Nov 18, 2011

thank you for that clarification! - lauraproud, Nov 18, 2011

Así que - So - Eddy, Nov 18, 2011

Answer 1

Entonces, tuve que comprar de nuevos.

I agree that the only problem is in the last sentence.

If you are saying "I had to buy new ones," then "tuve que comprarme unos nuevos."

If you are saying "I had to buy them again," then "me los tuve que comprar de nuevo."

........................................................................................

It should be noted, however, that by using busqué in the first sentence, you are saying you looked a short time, couldn´t find, case closed. If you had used buscaba, you searched a longer time, couldn´t find, situation not resolved even though you bought new shoes. Either variant is correct in this situation.

thank you, so i guess I would use buscaba or busqué depending on what i wanted to emphasize? - lauraproud, Nov 18, 2011

Answer 2

Esta mañana me busqué los zapatos de mi trabajo, pero no pude encontrarlos. Así que tuve que comprar otros nuevos.

thank you, .. how does 'así que' translate to english. Así is one of the words I'm having trouble with still. - lauraproud, Nov 18, 2011

Answer 3

Your sentences a great except the very last part of the second. You need to say what you're buying, for example, "tuve que comprar otros/zapatos nuevos," or something along those lines. Nice work!

edit: Also, "busqué mis zapatos" is correct, you don't need to say para.

thanks, i'll try adding that at the end. - lauraproud, Nov 18, 2011

Answer 4

It sounds fine to me, but more skilled speakers will find something to improve. What concerns me is: How did you get to the shop? Barefoot?

possibly it's ' zapatos para trabajar' ? Anyway, good luck with the job, I hope they were impressed with the new shoes! ¡Bienvenido al foro!

He wore his dancing shoes to the shoe store - 005faa61, Nov 18, 2011

lol, thank you. I wore my normal shoes. so are 'work shoes' .. zapatos para trabajar? i wasn't sure. - lauraproud, Nov 18, 2011