What makes someone cool? A recent international study has discovered six key characteristics: cool people are extroverted, open, hedonistic, adventurous, autonomous and powerful. The research involved six thousand people across twelve countries who described someone they knew personally and considered really cool. However, coolness is complicated. You cannot buy it, although it's enthusiastically sold everywhere. The more you try to be cool, the more uncool you become. Cultural historians argue that coolness emerged in 1940s New York with jazz, pioneered by young Black artists. Today, young people struggle to name someone they know who's cool. Experts remain skeptical that you can make yourself cooler – coolness tends to come from obsessive artistic vision or family problems, things you cannot plan.
🎯 Grammar Showcase
Passive voice for formal reporting
Used to describe research findings and historical events objectively
“A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that cool people have six characteristics.”
→ past participle as adjective (published)
“Selling out to the mainstream was looked down upon.”
→ passive past for social attitudes
“At this point, cool is connected with celebrity.”
→ passive present for current state
“Cool emerged in 1940s New York with jazz, pioneered by young Black artists as an act of resistance.”
→ past participle clause (pioneered by)
Modal verbs for possibility and ability
Expressing what is possible or impossible regarding coolness
“But can people actually become cooler?”
→ can for general ability/possibility
“Cool cannot be bought, although it's enthusiastically sold, and it can't be claimed without losing its benefits.”
→ cannot for impossibility
“People can increase how cool they seem to others to a certain extent, but it's limited.”
→ can for limited possibility
“Those are not things you can plan.”
→ can for ability with negative
Gerunds and infinitives
Used after certain verbs and prepositions, and as subjects
“They can't imagine living a quiet life that anyone would consider cool.”
→ gerund after 'imagine' (verb + -ing)
“What's fundamental to being cool is expressing them in an appropriate way.”
→ gerund after preposition 'to'
“Otherwise, being inexpressive makes you seem cold rather than cool.”
→ gerund as subject of sentence
“Any attempt risks seeming fake or try-hard, which is worse than being actively uncool.”
→ gerund after 'risk' (verb + -ing)
Relative clauses with 'who'
Defining and describing people with specific characteristics
“The research involved six thousand people across twelve countries who described someone they knew personally and considered really cool.”
→ defining relative clause (which people)
“People who are born introverts will probably struggle to seem consistently socially confident.”
→ defining relative clause (which people)
“Above all, a person who's cool does not care what others think about them.”
→ defining relative clause (which person)
Contrast connectors
Showing opposition or unexpected results between ideas
“However, cool people remain desirable and in demand.”
→ however at start for contrast
“Cool cannot be bought, although it's enthusiastically sold, and it can't be claimed without losing its benefits.”
→ although for concession (mid-sentence)
“Otherwise, being inexpressive makes you seem cold rather than cool.”
→ rather than for preference/contrast
“Now commercial success doesn't contradict cool; it confirms it.”
→ semicolon contrast (not X; Y instead)
💡 Study Tip
Notice how gerunds appear after certain verbs (imagine, risk) and prepositions (to, without), while infinitives follow other patterns – create your own sentences about what makes people interesting or attractive.
Grammar Practice: What is Cool? And Can Anyone Become Cool?
Test your understanding of the grammar forms from the story.
Passive Voice
In the sentence 'Selling out to the mainstream was looked down upon,' what does the passive structure express?
The passive past 'was looked down upon' describes social attitudes that existed in the past, making the statement objective and formal.
Passive Voice
Which sentence contains an error in using a past participle clause?
Option B incorrectly uses 'publishing' (active) when it should be 'published' (passive) – the journal published the research, not the research published itself.
Passive Voice
Complete the sentence to describe a current state: 'At this point, cool ____ celebrity.'
The passive present 'is connected with' correctly describes the current relationship between coolness and celebrity as an existing state.
Modal Verbs
In the sentence 'Cool cannot be bought, although it's enthusiastically sold,' what does 'cannot be bought' express?
'Cannot' expresses impossibility – coolness is fundamentally impossible to purchase, not just prohibited or unlikely.
Modal Verbs
Which sentence contains an error with modal verbs?
Option B incorrectly includes 'to' after 'can' – modals are followed directly by the base verb: 'you can plan' not 'you can to plan'.
Modal Verbs
Complete the sentence to express ability: 'Those are not things ____.'
After 'can', we use the base form of the verb without 'to': 'you can plan' is correct.
Gerunds & Infinitives
In the sentence 'What's fundamental to being cool is expressing them in an appropriate way,' why is 'being' used instead of 'be'?
After the preposition 'to' (meaning 'for' or 'regarding'), we must use a gerund. This is different from 'to' as part of an infinitive.
Gerunds & Infinitives
Which sentence contains an error with gerunds or infinitives?
Option B is incorrect – after 'risk', we use a gerund, not an infinitive: 'risks seeming' not 'risks to seem'.
Gerunds & Infinitives
Complete the sentence with the correct form as the subject: '____ inexpressive makes you seem cold.'
When a verb form functions as the subject of a sentence, we typically use the gerund: 'Being inexpressive' is the subject here.
Gerunds & Infinitives
Complete the sentence after the verb 'risk': 'Any attempt risks ____ fake.'
The verb 'risk' is always followed by a gerund (-ing form), not an infinitive: 'risks seeming' is correct.
Relative Clauses
In the sentence 'The research involved six thousand people across twelve countries who described someone they knew personally,' what does 'who described someone' do?
This is a defining relative clause that specifies exactly which people were involved – those who described someone cool.
Relative Clauses
Which sentence contains an error with relative clauses?
Option B incorrectly uses 'which' for people – we must use 'who' when referring to people, not 'which'.
Relative Clauses
Complete the sentence to define which person: 'A person ____ cool does not care what others think.'
For people, we use 'who' (or the contraction 'who's' for 'who is'), not 'which' or 'what'.
Contrast Connectors
In the sentence 'Cool cannot be bought, although it's enthusiastically sold,' what does 'although' express?
'Although' introduces a concession – it acknowledges something surprising: coolness is sold everywhere, yet paradoxically it cannot actually be bought.
Contrast Connectors
Which sentence contains an error with contrast connectors?
Option C is missing a comma after 'However' – when 'however' starts a sentence as a connector, it needs a comma: 'However, cool people remain…'
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show (non-) personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.