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ASL Classifiers:
Intro
The sign for "classifier"
is "C-L."

CLASSIFIER: 

 
A student asked: "What is a classifier and how is it different from a
handshape?"

Dr. Bill responds:

Handshapes are one of the five fundamental building blocks of a
sign: Handshape, movement, location, orientation, and nonmanual
markers. (Nonmanual markers include those aspects of body
language that do not involve the hands such as shoulder
movements, head tilts, and facial expressions.)  The handshape is
literally the shape in which we form our hand during the production of
a sign.

All signs have a handshape.

Classifiers are signs that use handshapes which are associated with
specific categories (classes) such as size, shape, usage, or
meaning.
 
Over time certain handshapes have been used so often to show
certain sizes, shapes, usages, or meanings, that when you hold up
or use one of those handshapes people (who know the language)
automatically associate the handshape with a particular category (or
class) of:

Things (objects, people, animals)

Sizes
Shapes
Amounts
Usage
The commonly recognized handshapes that are typically used to
show different
classes of things, shapes, and sizes are called
"classifiers."

The movement and placement of a classifier handshape can be used

to convey information about a referent's movement, type, size,
shape, location or extent.  (A referent is that which you are talking
about or that to which you are referring.)
 

Classifiers help to clarify your message, highlight specific details, and

provide an efficient way of conveying information.

Classifiers can be used to:

* describe the size and shape of an object.

* represent the object itself.
* demonstrate how the object moves.
* convey how it relates to other objects and or people.

In general, classifiers have to be "introduced" prior to using them to

represent an object. If we are going to talk about Jane, who is not in
the classroom - I'll spell her name. Or if I'm talking about my sister,
then I sign "sister" prior to using CL: 1 or CL: V. (Sister, CL1:
bumped-into old boyfriend) Or if I'm talking about baseball, I'll identify
the sport before using the CL:3-bent to represent the ball.
 
An effective classifier mimics the natural movement general shape of
the object to which it is referring. If using a CL:O-flat to represent a
dinosaur, the head ought to jog/jab forward to represent the animal's
long strides; or if using the same handshape for a cobra, the hand
must mimic the cobra's side-to-side dance.
 
Classifiers often work well with other classifiers to provide specific
details about a situation, event, person, or thing.

For example, if you want to describe a couch, you can use the sign
for COUCH which is done by signing SIT then using moving both
palm-down C-hands outward. If you wanted to make the point that
the couch was lumpy you could then move your "C" hands in an up
and down wavy manner as you move them to the outside. Or if you
wanted to describe the couch as being very long or being in an L-
shape you can move your "C" hands further apart or in an "L"-
movement path.
 
Classifiers help to paint a more precise picture of what your object
looks like or of what happened. For example, suppose there was a
car crash, what happened to the car? Did the other driver hit you
from the side, the front? What happened to you? Did you hit your
head on the steering wheel or fly through the window?
 
 The list of classifiers below is a work in progress and is therefore not
complete. It is not put forth as a comprehensive list of all the
classifiers that are being used in American Sign Language, or how
they are being used. it is simply a list of many of the more common
classifiers.
The best way to learn how to use classifiers is by getting out in the
Deaf community and observe the masters. Meet and chat with those
who are native Deaf as much as you can. Engage in conversations,
interact, and learn.
 

Note: as you study classifiers on some of these pages I have

included signs which evolved from classifiers but are so now so
common and standard that they are considered just regular signs.

A few of the more frequently occurring classifiers:

CL:1  Things that are (relatively) long and skinny.  A pencil, a stick, a
person.
CL:A an object in a certain location.  A house, a lamp.
CL:3- vehicles, [motorcycle, park a car, row of cars, accident, garage]
CL:4-["line of people" CURTAIN]
CL:5-modified-[scads of]
CL:B- flat things[roof, flat, wall]
CL:C-[thick things, round pole-like things]
CL:C-(index and thumb)  pepperoni, cookies, campaign buttons
CL:F - small round things: buttons, quarters, tokens, eyeballs,
instrumental classifier for holding on to small things, (also for
showing movement of small flying insects)
CL:G- thin things (or degree of thinness), also "eyelids"
CL:L(modified)-[large, big-headed/egoistic/conceited, check, card,
square]
CL:R Rope-like, braided, rolled,and/or twisted things.
CL:V- legs, a person walking-(upside-down V), two people walking,
[stand, walk-to, lay down, toss-and-turn, dive, jump, skate board,
scooter, get up] 
CL:V- legs, a person walking-(upside-down V), two people walking,
[stand, walk-to, lay down, toss-and-turn, dive, jump, skate board,
scooter, get up] 
CL:V-bent  a small animal, or a larger animal sitting.
CL:Y  Very wide things.  A fat person walking (WADDLE).  A
hippopotamus's mouth.

 
A-Open

Objects in specified locations: a house or

building on a street, a statue or vase on a
table, a lamp on a desk.
B-(flat_hand) §    Smooth, flat surfaces: road or runway;
wall, hallway, ceiling, floor, shelf
§    Flat mobile surfaces: surfboard,
skateboard, snowboard, people mover
(moving sidewalk)
§    Inanimate objects in specified
locations:
pictures on a wall, books on a table,
racecar on a road
§    Inanimate objects in specified
positions:
books lined upright on a shelf, papers
facing down
§    Height and width: a person's height,
the width of a box, a stack of books
§    Delineating 3 dimensional objects:
house, box
§    A non-motorized riding device: horse,
bicycle

curved hand

Curved objects: bowl, sink, basin or a

digging device

bent-hand

§    Smooth, flat surfaces: a long stretch of

desert or road
§    Describing a object with sharp corners:
the top of an area, such as a shelf or
refrigerator

C
§    Long cylindrical objects: pipe, canal,
tunnels
§    Short cylindrical objects: cup, glass,
bottle
§    Thick cylindrical shapes: tree trunk,
biceps
§    Thickness or depth of an object: a
book, pizza, blanket, stack of papers,
snow fall

C-claw §    Clusters of objects in specified location:

a group of students in the back room, a
cluster of flowers
§    Sections: location of a room in a house,
sections of a city, an article or column in
a newspaper
 §    Large objects in a specified location: a
house out in the middle of nowhere, a
camper on the back of a truck
§    Medium, round, flat objects: cookie,
badge, small cap (yarmulke), a large
dial
§    Small spherical objects: clown nose,
bulging eyes
§    Large spherical objects (two hands):
ball
§    Teeth: commonly used for baring teeth

C-modified
§    Small round flat objects: a disc, gold
nugget, piece of food, moon
§    Height and/or width of small objects
(similar to CL: G): a small bottle of
perfume, a short pencil, a long screw or
nail
§    Large pinchers: parrot beak

F
§    Small, thin, round objects: button, coin,
polka dots, pepperoni, pepper shaker
§    Long, thin, cylindrical shaped objects:
stick, dowel, curtain rod, small roll of
paper, water hose, faucet
§    Eye gaze: a person looking up or
down, eyes moving back and forth, a
person rolling his eyes
§    Person moving along: hiking, walking,
wandering around

F-open  
 
G
§    Short or shallow depths: thin layer of
ice, shallow water, a small stack of
papers
§    Flat and thin with squared edges:
picture frame, ruler, strip of paper
§    Thin shapes (in general): mustache,
sideburns, collar
§    Small Pinchers: beak of a small bird,
tweezers

H (or "U") §    A variation of CL: V: legs together,

standing on a sidewalk, a person on a
surfboard
§    Thin flat objects: boards, bacon,
noodles, name tag or badge, label,
band aid
§    Lathering device: spreading butter or
frosting, a dog licking a person's face
H-bent

Fastening small objects to something else

(using a clasping movement): badge,
earrings, hair barrette, paper clip

§    Very thin and long objects: string, yard,

wire, thread, cherry stem
§    Defining boundaries: line, line that one
does not cross

horns

§    Animals with two horns: bull, ox, cow

§    Pronged items: goal posts, pitch fork,
forklift, and the start of a gun (at the
beginning of a race)
§    Objects with sharp borders for roofs
and loose sides: tent, canopy, circus,
castle

ILY
§    Type of airplane: with slight finger
modifications, airplane can become a
supersonic jet (CL: RY), a space ship
(CL: XY)
§    Movement: landing, take off, skidding
on a runway, crashing in midair

L §    Thin squared objects: placemat,

driver's license, greeting card
 §    Thin squared objects in a specified
location and or position: pictures on a
wall, mirror, a window frame
§    Objects with a short barrel: drill,
welding device, gun (pistol), laser

L-modified

§    Circular or oval shaped objects: (similar

to CL-C-modified, but larger) dish, rug,
platter
§    Thin round surface: lake, round table,
paint spill, round mirror, puddle of water
§    Spraying device (with index wiggle):
window cleaner, water gun

§    Thick medium sized, cylindrical objects:

rod, tree branch, pipe, large cable,
firehouse, salt shaker
§    Viewing devices: goggles, telescope,
binoculars

O-flat §    Small squat objects (with rounded

end): very fast race car
§    Objects that are round at the bottom
and a slight opening at the top: tulips,
closed flower bud
§    Animals with long necks: giraffe, llama,
goose, swan, dinosaur, cobra
§    Thick Claws: (slight modification of
CL:O-flat>CL:5) lobster, crab
 
R

§    Braided or twisted material: rope,

cable, braids, curled strands (hair or
ribbon)
§    Short, round, somewhat thick with
narrowed tips: cigars

S §    Solid, spherical objects: head (of a

person or animal); head bobbing, head
retreating (into shell)
 §    Ramming device: pistons of a car
engine, fist (or anything solid that can
be jammed in or packed in tight)
Cranking handle: window crank, old
fashion ice cream machine
§    Long thin round hand-held objects:
spear, large stirring spoon, rake handle

V
§    People (or rather legs of people): laying
down, standing up, legs together,
kicking
§    Two long thing things, parallel to one
another: train tracks
§    Two pronged device: fork, forklift
§    Groups of 2: 2 people walking together
or standing
§    Scissoring object:  scissors, claws of a
crab or lobster

§    Seated (person or animal: crouching,

squatting, hunched down, perched
§    Bending knees: climbing stairs or
V-bent mountains, jumping, sitting
§    Arrangement of chairs: chairs in a
semi-circle; circle or semi circle;
multiple rows
§    Thin pulling object: bow string, pulling
wire (to signal the bus to stop)
§    Sliding device: sled, roller skates
§    Raking device: parallel scratch marks
or paint streaks
§    Sets of teeth: chattering teeth
§    Head of an animal with floppy ears:
rabbit
§    Two pronged teeth: most commonly,
snake, vampire, squirrel or chipmunk
§    Long objects with a connective ending:
bones, joints

X §    A person or animal that is crouched or

hunched over (using a modified version
of CL: 1): a person who skulks, slinks,
shrinks or slouches.
§    A scratching or digging device: scratch
or scar, a digging or chipping apparatus
(such a pick ax or mining tool)
§    Anything with a hook: boat anchor,
door latch, fishing hook, talons, tow, bat
(animal), beaked nose
§    Long curved sliding device: ice skates,
skis

X-modified §    Small objects commonly held between

fingers: key or winding device
§    Small bulbous objects: onion, garlic
 Y
§    Wide or long objects: hippopotamus'
mouth, long word, high heels (stilettos)
§    Objects with handles: beer mug,
pitcher, and in some instances,
suitcase, luggage, or briefcase
§    Long curved object: cow horn, smoking
pipe, telephone
§    Spanning the width or breadth of an
object: ruler

1 §    Long, skinny objects: most commonly,

a singular person
§    Small cylindrical objects: sticks, pencils
§    Delineating 2 dimensional objects:
poster board, plot of land, circle,
diamond (any shape)
§    Trajectory paths and or connections:
one way street, two way street,
intersection, ball flying midair, a snake
moving across a surface, tears
§    Animals that crawl: (modification
CL:1>CL:X) caterpillar, snail

 
 
3 §    Motorized vehicles: car, tractor,
helicopter, bus, motorcycle
§    Vehicle related events: parking a
car, driving erratically, parallel
parking, garage, car accident
§    Groups of 3: 3 people crossing the
road
§    Feet: duck feet, hiking, walking,
position of feet as a person walks
§    Liquid spray over large surfaces:
spray painting a car or house
§    (upright) sails on a boat

3-curved §    Small objects gripped by the index,

thumb and middle finger: computer
mouse, baseball, bowling ball
§    Large beak: commonly used to
represent birds of prey, eagle, falcon
(if placed in front of mouth)
§    Hands: (modification of CL:5-claw)
particularly for scaling or climbing
large object, wall, boulder
 §    Hands that are stashing: stocking
shelves, investing in stocks
§    Containers held by index and
thumb, requiring ejection of contents
(using thumb): needle, vaccinations

4 §    Parallel lines: stripes, bars, fence,

upright boundaries
§    Objects that leak: bleeding, drool,
running water, draining (ear, sink,
pipes)
§    Objects that flow: curtains, hair,
streamers
§    Group of 4: 4 people standing or
walking together
§    Traffic: (using a modified 4 or 5
handshape) traffic jam, multi-lane
freeways

§    Stiff and straight: hairs or fur that

stand on end, Mohawk
§    Objects that are extremely porous:
filters, screen, wind, breeze
§    Group of 5: 5 people standing or
walking together
5 §    Large flat object: a serving platter,
or "OPEN-(flat)" flat lid
§    Flowing porous objects (using a
modified 5) CL:5 > CL:O or CL:O >
CL: 5: headlights, flashing lights,
sunlight, shower
§    Objects that have projectile
movements: vomit, diarrhea, flash
flood, copious tears
§    Delineate height or movement of
water: ocean, flood, rising water,
waterfall
§    Traffic: (using a modified 4 or 5
handshape) traffic jam, multi-lane
freeways
§    Upright objects viewed while
traveling very fast: commonly used
to describe blurred scenery while
driving very fast.

5-modified ·    Scads of (too many to count): stars

in the sky, freckles, audience or
crowd, basket full of clothes, gobs of
money
·    Objects that are rough, jagged: rake,
the plowing device on a large tractor
·    Objects that are withered or curled
up: withered tree
·    Representing groups of people
sitting together: carpool
·    Hands: (modification of CL:5-claw)
particularly for scaling or climbing
large object, wall, boulder
 
 
 
 
Need to add:
C-flattened
flattened-C
modified-X
closed-X
 
____________________________________________
Discussion:
DrVicars: What is a classifier? What do you think Art?
Art:  I think you caught me not doing today's homework.
DrVicars: Heh, sorry, for putting you on the spot.
Heather: It's the form of the fingers or hands to indicate a type of
sign. Such as... if you want to sign a cup or a plate, you form either a
small circle with the hands, or you form a larger circle with the hands.
Tigie: Like long narrow things and round flat things?
Daniel: Signs that represent classes of objects such as land or
water vehicles as a group.  
DrVicars: Those are some great answers, I think we are getting
there. :)   Now give me another example... [time passes] ...Anyone
feel free...
Sandy: Like using the index finger to show long skinny things?
DrVicars: Good, right. Let me explain it a bit more for you. If I want to
show a person (we will call him "Fred") walking and I have
established him on my right I can take my right index finger and
move it to the left to represent "Fred" walking across the room (or
wherever).  The index finger is (in this instance) being used as a
classifier.  I can also inflect the sign in various ways (speed, distance,
movement path, non-manual markers, etc). If I add a non-manual
marker such as a facial expression it influences the meaning of my
classifier. For example, If I do the CL:1-"walk across the room" sign
with a smile It means Fred is happily walking across the room.  If I do
it quickly It means Fred is hustling etc. [Changing how you do a sign
is what you would call "inflecting" the sign for meaning.]
Sandy: What I didn't understand in looking at this was - isn't it overly
broad? Is it really understood?
DrVicars: Think of classifiers as a type of pronoun.
You have to identify your pronoun before you can use it. Also you
have to use it in context. I cant just start a conversation with you by
signing, "HE WALK." I have to set up some sort of situation or
context, then I spell F-R-E-D, and then point to the right then form
the INDEX-finger-classifier (or "Classifier 1" also shown as CL:1) 
and move it to the left.
Tigie: How do you know that classifier "F" isn't part of a fingerspelled 
or initialized word instead of representing a small round thing?
DrVicars: Great question. The answer is context. It is the same way
you know the letter O and the number 0 are different. It depends
where they show up.
DrVicars:  I don't expect you all to be experts at classifiers, just want
you to know they exist.
An example on that "F" concept: If I sign "I BUY NEW SHIRT" then I
touch an F on my chest and throw it off suddenly it could mean: "and
the button popped off." The "F" classifier acquired the meaning of
"button" because of the context (I was talking about "shirts" and
placement on my chest).
Tigie: Would everyone understand that a button popped off and not
for instance a bottle cap?
DrVicars: Remember this concept: "Show, don't tell." It is much faster
to create an imaginary person or object then show what happens to it
or him--than to describe every item in the situation. In the case of the
bottle cap I would have had to indicate a bottle of some kind before
using an f classifier. The only possible meaning for the classifier in
the shirt example would be a button, because that was the context. 
People normally don't wear a row of bottle-caps down the front of
their shirts.

Sandy: So, classifiers are used later on in the "sentence,"--it makes

more sense now.
Heather: Why would you use the "F" sign to show a button popped
off? Wouldn't you use a "B?"
DrVicars: Because the shape of the fingerspelled letter "F" has a
round hole representing the shape of a button. Remember ASL is not
linking to English it is linking to a
concept. 
Heather: Thanks, that makes perfect sense.

Classifiers vs. Signs:

 
All classifiers are signs but not all signs are classifiers.
A "handshape" and a "classifier handshape" are two different things
(even though they may look the same. For example, the handshape
"A" is used in the sign "YOURSELF." But that isn't an example of a
classifier. The "A" handshape in YOURSELF doesn't represent a
certain size, shape, usage, or movement of "you." It doesn't "classify"
you as being tall, short, fat, thin, or any other category. Thus when
asked for an example of a "Classifier: A" if a student responds with
the sign "YOURSELF" that answer is wrong. Another example is The
ILY handshape when used to mean "I love you." The ILY handshape
is not a classifier when it is used to mean "I love you." In that
circumstance the ILY handshape is just a regular "sign." Remember,
to be a classifier you have to classify something. When you sign "I
love you" you are not classifying the person receiving your affection
as being of a certain size, shape, usage, or any other general
category. However, if you take that same ILY handshape and zoom it
through the air as a representation of the specific movement path of
an airplane then the ILY handshape does indeed become a
"classifier." However the sign AIRPLANE is just a sign until you
modify it to indicate something specific about an airplane. If you just
hold up an ILY handshape (angled slightly downward) and move it
forward an inch, back and inch and forward an inch (using two small
movements) you have not done a classifier -- you have simply signed
AIRPLANE. Suppose though at that point you twist your ILY
handshape upside down and do a loop in the air with that
handshape? Pah! You have changed the sign AIRPLANE into the
CL-ILY: "airplane turn upside down and do a loop." It is not until you
use the ILY handshape to specify some type or category of
movement that the sign AIRPLANE becomes the classifier "airplane
turn upside down and do a loop." Consider this bit of English
language use: "There was an airplane. It flew upside down and did a
loop." The first sentence names our topic. The second sentence
uses the word "it" as a pronoun to refer back to the topic and then
adds information describing what the airplane did. In the English
sentence the word "airplane" is not a pronoun. It is a noun. In an ASL
sentence just because you sign AIRPLANE doesn't make it a
classifier. The sign "AIRPLANE" is "just" a noun." Later if we "add
information" to the "AIRPLANE" sign (by changing the movement
path or orientation) then it becomes a classifier referring back to the
airplane and showing how the airplane moved.
 
The general sign "ESTABLISH" is not a classifier. For example, when
used in the sentence, "I/ME ESTABLISH NEW BUSINESS" the sign
ESTABLISH is not a classifier. Just because "ESTABLISH" uses an
"A" handshape doesn't mean it is a "Classifier-A." Using the
ESTABLISH sign in the phrase "Establish a business" isn't
representing a "class" of business types. The "A" is just a general
handshape that has long since become disassociated from any
specific type, function, location, shape, or size of business.
However, if after you have named a referent (such as a house,
building, statue, vace, lamp), you then do the "ESTABLISH" sign in a
"certain location" in order to specify where your referent is located
you are at that point using the sign ESTABLISH as a classifier
meaning "The [referent] is here at this location."
- Dr. Bill

Classifiers are signs that are used to represent general categories or

"classes" of things. They can be used to describe the size and shape
of an object (or person). They can be used to represent the object
itself, or the way the object moves or relates to other objects (or
people). Another definition is: "A set of handshapes that represent
classes of things that share similar characteristics."

Below are some examples of "types" of classifiers. I don't expect you

to get a handle on these just because I list them, but I thought you
would enjoy seeing a sample the diversity of classifiers out there
(there are many more than I'm indicating here). This list is from a
study guide I hand out to my students at the college during certain
semesters when I teach from the Vista, Signing Naturally curriculum
(Lentz, Mikos, & Smith, 1988).  Note:  I've modified the list here and
there and added some of my own information.

• Descriptive Classifiers (DCL), are also known as size and shape

specifiers, (SASSes). They describe a person or object.
DCL:B (or bent B) "extremely tall"  [Explanation: to represent the
descriptive classifier "extremely tall" you hold the "bent 'B' hand" high
in the air while using an appropriate facial expression."]
DCL:bent-B "short"
DCL:4 "long hair"
DCL:1 "bulletin board"
DCL:1 "black board"
DCL:4 (claw) "freckles"
DCL:4 "striped"
DCL:G "thin"
DCL:4 (claw) "curley hair"

• Semantic Classifiers, represent categories of nouns. For example,

people or vehicles.
SCL:1 (person) "walking fast"
SCL:1 (person) "person walks to...____"
SCL:3 (car) "drives to____"
SCL:Y (fat person) "waddling"
SCL:flattened-O (fast-car) "cruising"
SCL:bent-V (row of chairs)

• Locative Classifiers, show placement or spatial information about

an object. Sometimes indicate movement.
LCL:C/LCL:B "place cup on napkin"
LCL:5 "leaf floating to the ground"
LCL:1 (sticks) "one here-one here"
LCL:B "shelf" (over to the right)
LCL:1 "goal-posts"
(2h)LCL:L "adjust a picture"

• Plural classifiers
Indicating a specific number or a non-specific number.
PCL:2 "two people walking"
PCL:4 "long line of people"
PCL:4 "people moving in line"
PCL: 5 "hordes of _____." Often called "scads of."
PCL:V "people seated in a circle"

• Instrument Classifiers, you use your hands (or an other part of your
body) to manipulate an "object."
ICL "driving"
ICL "hammer in a nail"
ICL "play checkers"
ICL "play chess"
ICL "light match"
ICL (broom) ICL "sweep"
ICL (water) ICL"pour in"
ICL (garbage) ICL "dump out"
ICL (wash-clothes) ICL "hang up"

• Body Classifiers/Mime
You use your body to "act out" or "role play." Sometimes this is like
"mime." Other times you just show the action (or interaction) that is
going on. Often this involves "role shifting."
"yawn"
"acting tough"
"give hug to child"
"running hard/pumping arms"
"wave to crowd"
"listen for strange noise"
• Bodypart classifiers
A specific part of your body is doing an action.
(2h)BPCL:F "look at"
BPCL "kick back" (relax)
BPCL "cross legs"
BPCL ""tap foot"
BPCL "use gesture looking up"
BPCL:flat-C "big grin"
BPCL:L "red face" shy
BPCL:B "mouth frowning"
 

Student:  I don't get what it means in the outline where it says:

SCL:1 (person) "walking fast"

DrVicars: Oh okay then... let me clarify that.

The SCL simply identifies the general category. 

The ":" means what a normal colon means.
The "1" represents making a "one" handshape with you index finger.
The ( ) tells you what it is representing--you have to pre-identify this
in your sentence or conversation.
The manner or how it was done is in the "quotes"
So if I wanted to show "Bob" walking fast, I would fingerspell his
name, then hold up that finger and move it quickly across my signing
space. That would be a classifier indicating how he is moving.

In a message dated 4/2/2006 12:52:00 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

John L. writes:

I have a question for you, can you give me a definition for

"Classifier Predicates"?

John,
Classifier Predicates:
A classifier (in ASL) is a sign that represents a general category of
things, shapes, or sizes.
A predicate is the part of a sentence that modifies (says something
about or describes) the topic of the sentence or some other noun or
noun phrase in the sentence. (Valli & Lucas, 2000)
Example:  JOHN HANDSOME
The topic is "John" the predicate is an "adjective predicate"
describing John's appearance.
Example:  JOHN RUN
The topic is "John" the predicate is a "verb predicate" stating what
John did or is doing.
Example:  JOHN BED
The topic is "John" the predicate is a "noun predicate" stating John's
location.
Example:  JOHN CL:FF "eyes quickly looked at right"
The topic is "John" the predicate is a "classifier predicate" indicating
that John quickly looked to his right.
Whenever you use a classifier to describe the shape, size,
 movement, or location of a noun, you are using a "classifier
predicate."
Bill

Classifier: 1 or index finger  CL:1

Classifier: 3 CL:3
Classifier: 5
Classifier: A
Classifier: B and Classifier; BB
Classifier: F
Classifier: H,R, and 4
Classifier: Inverted V and bent inverted V
Classifier: Quantifiers
Classifiers: Size, Location, Movement

Submitted by a reader:

Element classifiers: Describe things that do not have specific shapes

or sizes, and are usually in constant motion. 
ECL:4 "a running faucet"
ECL:5wg "a candle flame"
ECL:1 (zig zag) "a flash of lightning"
ECL:flat O----->spread C "twinkling lights"
 

References:
Lentz, E. M., Mikos, K., Smith, C., & Dawn Sign Press. (1988).
Signing naturally teacher's curriculum guide. San Diego, CA:
DawnSign Press.
Valli, C. & Lucas, C. (2000). Linguistics of American Sign Language.
(3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

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