[General] I have a black husband or black husband.

[arjitsharma]

I would like to know when a noun is countable why the indefinite article is not added before it. Like in the following:
I have black husband.
I hear a native speaker say this.

 

[Raymott]

It's incorrect.

 

[emsr2d2]

I would like to know why, when a noun is countable, [STRIKE]why[/STRIKE] the indefinite article is not added before it. Like in the following:

I have black husband. :cross: I have a black husband.

I heard a native speaker say this.

See above. If that's definitely what you heard the native speaker say, then they made a very strange error. Even the statement itself is odd. I would expect to hear "My husband is black".

 

[teechar]

It can work in some contexts.
For example:

A- Can you imagine having a black husband?
B- I have a black husband! (said with a lot of indignation)

It's also possible that the OP did not hear the "a" in that sentence.

 

[arjitsharma]

Are these sentences incorrect?
1.I have black husband.
2. I have wife.
3. Do you have wife.

I would like to ask one more thing.
Can't I say I have a black husband without indignation? Or there has to be indignation while I add the "a" before " black husband".

 

[Lynxear]

Are these sentences incorrect?
1.I have black husband.
2. I have wife.
3. Do you have wife.

None of these sentences are correct without "a" as an article in the sentence without any context.

You could use "the" in some cases but you would need context to make it make sense. For example"

There are several couples in a room with wives and husbands separated. There is only one black man among the men.

"Which husband is yours?" asks one woman to another.
"I have the black husband" is the response.

There is only one black man in the group of men. So in this case you would use the definite article "the".

You are not getting the message here. You MUST have an article in front of "husband" (or "wife" for that matter) for these sentence to be grammatical.

Yes, you can say "I have a black husband" without sounding angry. I can imagine an angry tone if the person saying this is being defensive about her husband. It can also be said with a factual flat tone as well.

 

[Skrej]

You seem to be lead astray by the adjective. The husband's color is insignificant regarding the article usage. You could even substitute a nationality in place of the color, but you'll still need an article.

You could have a purple, a green, or a Chinese husband, but you still have a husband. The only influence the adjective has is whether you need 'a' or 'an', depending upon what sound the adjective starts with.

Of course if you're using the definite article, then even that adjective sound is irrelevant.

Regardless, the more natural phrasing is as emsr pointed out. "My husband/wife/spouse is black/Thai/English".

 

[andrewg927]

Unless you were married to the Green Giant, I don't imagine anyone would say "I have a green husband."

 

[Lynxear]

I don't imagine anyone would say "I have a green husband."

Perhaps he was sick or smoked too many cigarettes in a row. Maybe he was green with envy?;-)

 

[bubbha]

Are these sentences incorrect?
1.I have black husband.
2. I have wife.
3. Do you have wife.

They are incorrect. Indeed, they would immediately identify you as a non-native speaker, since such sentences are very common among non-native speakers, but almost non-existent among native speakers.

 

[andrewg927]

Just to be clear, this kind of mistake does happen when we text our friends.

 

[arjitsharma]

Is this correct?
My wife is a korean.

 

[andrewg927]

Yes. Also correct: "My wife is Korean".

 

[Skrej]

Is this correct?
My wife is a korean.

You need to capitalize 'Korean', but there are limited contexts where it would be necessary to include the article.

 

[Tdol]

I hear a native speaker say this.

They may well have said the article, but when it's unstressed in connected speech, it may not be very clear that they are saying it- it can be almost inaudible.

 

[shimacatu_sa]

If my husband were an environmentalist who recycles everything,
would it be OK to say jokingly "I have a green husband"?

 

[Tdol]

Yes, it would.

 

[Lynxear]

Yes, that is fine. It could even be said without joking as long as the person you say it to knows your husband's feeling about the environment.

If he was a good gardener, you could say "My husband has a green thumb."

Having a "green thumb" is an idiom meaning a person is skilled when growing plants.

 

[Rover_KE]

Having a "green thumb" is an idiom meaning a person is skilled when growing plants.

The British and Australian version of this idiom is 'green fingers'.

 

[andrewg927]

Or you could say "my husband has a black thumb". You can't say "I have a black husband" with the same meaning however.