12.5 Grammar in Use

A story of waiting, hoping, and learning uses narrative past tenses, cause-and-effect connectors, and modals of possibility. All three appear in Waiting for the Rain.

1. Narrative past tenses

The story is told in the past. Use the simple past for completed actions, the past continuous for actions in progress, and the past perfect for what happened earlier.

  • Simple past: Velu travelled to the city.
  • Past continuous: He was waiting for the rain every morning.
  • Past perfect: The land had fed him well for six years before the drought came.

Practice. Choose the correct form:

  1. While Velu (rested / was resting) under the tree, an old woman spoke to him.
  2. By the time the rain came, Velu (had understood / understood) nature’s wisdom.
  1. was resting   2. had understood

2. Cause-and-effect connectors

The story is full of causes and results, joined by connectors like because, since, as (reason) and so, therefore, as a result (result).

  • The rains failed, so the land became barren.
  • Because the soil had been farmed for years, it needed rest.

Practice. Join with the connector given:

  1. There was no rain. The crops did not grow. (so)
  2. The land had been cultivated for years. It needed rest. (because)
  1. There was no rain, so the crops did not grow.
  2. The land needed rest because it had been cultivated for years.

3. Modals of possibility

When we are unsure whether something will happen — like the rain — we use modals of possibility: may, might, could.

  • It might rain tomorrow.
  • The clouds may bring rain.
  • Resting the land could restore its fertility.

These are softer than will, showing hope or uncertainty rather than certainty.

Quick check Use will for something you are sure of (The sun will rise.), and may / might / could for something merely possible (It might rain.). Velu’s whole story lives in the world of “might” — of hope and uncertainty.

Practice. Make the sentence show possibility: “The rain comes soon.”

The rain may/might come soon.