10.5 Grammar in Use
A story told over several years relies on narrative past tenses, time expressions, and vivid comparisons. All three appear in The Cherry Tree.
1. Narrative past tenses
Stories about the past use mainly the simple past for completed actions, the past continuous for background actions in progress, and the past perfect for something that happened earlier.
- Simple past: Rakesh planted the seed.
- Past continuous: A woman was cutting grass when she sliced the tree.
- Past perfect: By spring, the tree had grown taller than Rakesh.
Practice. Choose the correct form:
- While Rakesh (watched / was watching) the garden, he noticed the sapling.
- The goat ate the leaves that the tree (had grown / grew) that month.
- was watching 2. had grown
2. Time expressions (the passage of time)
To show years passing, the story uses time expressions: one day, a few months later, the next spring, year after year, by the third year, eventually. These keep a long span of time clear and orderly for the reader.
Practice. Put these in a sensible order to show time passing: by the third year · one day · a few months later
one day → a few months later → by the third year
3. Similes and comparison
A simile compares two things using like or as: the tree grew as tall as Rakesh; the blossoms were like pink clouds. Similes make description vivid. We also compare growth using comparatives and superlatives: taller, stronger, the tallest.
Quick check A simile uses like or as to compare (as tall as Rakesh). A metaphor says one thing is another, without like/as (the tree was a green flame). Both make writing vivid.
Practice. Complete the simile: *The new leaves were as green as ___.*
as green as emeralds (or as green as fresh grass)