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Yo tuve que buscar una almohada nueva y una manta.

Yo tuve que buscar una almohada nueva y una manta.
I had to look for a new pillow and a blanket.
From Lesson 106:Preterite stem changes for -ir verbs·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Yo tuve que buscar una almohada nueva y una manta.

Why is it tuve que instead of tenía que?
Both mean "I had to," but using the preterite form tuve tells us you had a specific obligation and you actually completed the action. If you used the imperfect form tenía, it would just describe the situation (you needed to do it, but we don't necessarily know if you actually did). Here, it's an action you carried out!
Why isn't there a word for "for" after buscar?
In Spanish, the verb buscar translates perfectly to "to look for" or "to search for" all by itself. You never need to add a preposition like por or para after it.
Why does nueva come after almohada here?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like nueva (new) usually come right after the noun they describe. So, instead of saying "new pillow," you say almohada nueva (literally "pillow new").
Do I need to include the Yo at the beginning of the sentence?
No, it's completely optional! Because tuve is specifically the "I" form of the verb tener in the past tense, the listener already knows who is doing the action. The Yo is just included here for a little extra emphasis.

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