Classifying Adjectives

Classifying adjectives are a large group of adjectives identifying a person / animals / thing / place / event as a member of a class.  Thus, they are called classifying adjectives.

Classifying Adjectives place people /animals/ things/ places/ events either in a particular class or not.  Thus,  they do not have comparatives / superlatives.    Hence they are not gradable.

Non-Gradable Adjectives

complete, ethical, exhausted, faultless, furious, perfect, unanimous, unique, universal, woollen, wooden

To stress the extreme / absolute nature of the classifying adjectives, use intensifiers only.  (no down-toners)

Extreme qualities:

disgusted/ disgusting, disgraceful, disillusioned, furious, terrified, starving

The man was totally disillusioned.  (Not:  The man was very disillusioned.)

absolute qualities:

alive, dead, correct, female, male, human,

She is absolutely correct.  (Not:  She is rather correct.)

* quite

For both gradable and non-gradable adjectives

That game is quite interesting (gradable).  She was quite exhausted (non-gradable).

Some adjectives can be either qualitative / classifying depending on the meaning you wish to convey.

As a qualitative adjective, ‘religious’ is gradable:

The headman is very religious.  The headman is a very religious man.

The headman is rather religious.  The headman is a rather religious man.

As a classifying adjective, ‘religious’ is used as below:

The council met over religious matter.  (not over financial / social matters)

Can you think of other examples?