Think about a drop of water in the ocean. if it were to go through the whole hydrologic cycle number the steps that would follow

1) The atmosphere is cooler, so the drop of water would change from a gas back to a liquid through condensation. 
2)  As more water vapor condenses into liquid, the drop of water will eventually drop to Earth's surface as precipitation. 
3)  The drop of water falls to the ground as rain and is absorbed as groundwater. 
4) The groundwater flows into a river which empties back into the ocean. 
5) Evaporation would change the drop of water to water vapor, a gas, which would rise into the atmosphere.