n=-42
#bash has no ?: for strings: && and || make a short if-else
(( n > 0 )) && classify="positive" || classify="negative"
#classify is "negative"
#$(( )) has ?:, but only for numbers
sign=$(( n > 0 ? 1 : -1 ))
#sign is -1
echo "classify is $classify"
echo "sign is $sign"