Here is a list of classifying adjectives:
absolute
active
actual
agricultural
alternative
annual
apparent
available
basic
central
chemical
civil
commercial
communist
conservative
cultural
daily
democratic
direct
domestic
double
due
east
eastern
economic
educational
electric
empty
external
female
financial
foreign
free
full
general
golden
historical
human
ideal
independent
industrial
inevitable
intellectual
internal
international
legal
local
magic
male
medical
mental
military
modern
moral
national
natural
negative
north
northern
nuclear
official
open
original
personal
physical
political
positive
possible
potential
private
professional
proper
psychological
public
raw
ready
real
religious
revolutionary
right
royal
rural
scientific
separate
sexual
single
social
solid
south
southern
standard
straight
sufficient
theoretical
traditional
urban
west
western
wooden
wrong
2.27 Adjectives such as British, American, and Australian, that indicate nationality or origin, are also classifying adjectives. They start with a capital letter because they are related to names of countries.
…American citizens.
Some classifying adjectives are formed from people’s names, for example Victorian and Shakespearean. They also start with a capital letter.
…Victorian houses.
2.28 Because they put something in a class, classifying adjectives are not gradable in the way that qualitative adjectives are. For example, if you do not have to pay for something, you cannot say that it is very free, or rather free. Things are either in a particular class or not in it. Therefore, classifying adjectives do not have comparatives and superlatives and are not normally used with adverbs like very and rather.
However, when you want to show that you feel strongly about what you are saying, you can use an intensifying adverb such as absolutely with a classifying adjective. This is explained in paragraphs 2.147 to 2.148.
adjectives that are of both types
2.29 Some adjectives can be either qualitative or classifying depending on the meaning. For example, in an emotional person, emotional is a qualitative adjective meaning feeling or expressing strong emotions; it has a comparative and superlative and it can be used with words like very and rather. Thus, a person can be very emotional, rather emotional, or more emotional than someone else. However, in the emotional needs of children, emotional is a classifying adjective meaning relating to a person’s emotions, and so it cannot be used with words like very or rather, and it does not have a comparative and superlative.
Here is a list of adjectives that are often used both as qualitative adjectives and as classifying adjectives:
academic
conscious
dry
educational
effective
emotional
extreme
late
modern
moral
objective
ordinary
regular
religious
revolutionary
rural
scientific
secret
similar
social
Identifying colours: colour adjectives
2.30 When you want to say what colour something is, you use a colour adjective.
…her blue eyes.
…a red ribbon.
Here is a list of the main colour adjectives:
black
blue
brown
cream
green
grey
orange
pink
purple
red
scarlet
violet
white
yellow
adding extra information to colour adjectives
2.31 If you want to specify a colour more precisely, you use a word such as light, pale, dark, deep, or bright, in front of a colour adjective.
…light brown hair.
…a pale green suit.
…a dark blue dress.
…deep red dye.
…her bright blue eyes.
These combinations sometimes have hyphens.
…a light-blue suit.
…the plant’s tiny pale-pink flowers.
Note that these words cannot be used with the colours black or white, because you cannot have different shades of black and white.
approximate colours
2.32 If you want to talk about a colour that does not have a definite name you can:
…greenish glass.
…yellowish hair.
…greenish-white flowers.
…a greeny blue line.
…the blue-green waves.
2.33 You can mix colours in these ways to produce whatever new colour you are trying to describe.
comparison of colour adjectives
2.34 Colour adjectives such as blue and green occasionally have comparatives and superlatives ending in -er and -est.
His face was redder than usual.
…the bluest sky I have ever seen.
Comparatives and superlatives are explained in paragraphs 2.103 to 2.122.
colour nouns
2.35 Colours can also be nouns, and the main colours can also be plural nouns.
The snow shadows had turned to a deep blue.
They blended in so well with the khaki and reds of the landscape.