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Phrases

The overall article discusses the topic Phrase in English Grammar, their meanings. It will also explain meanings of phrases and their usage in Hindi and differences between idiom and phrase.

Meaning of Phrase

Phrases are a group of words without a verb in English grammar that people use for expressing something. Whereas a clause contains both subject and a verb making complete sense, a phrase neither includes a subject nor a verb, and it does not convey a complete thought. A phrase can be short or long depending on its use in a sentence. There are many types of phrases like Noun phrase, Gerund phrase, Absolute phrase, Infinitive phrase, Appositive phrase, Participial phrase, Prepositional phrase. 

Phrase meaning in Hindi –

The phrase meaning in Hindi is “Bakyangsha”.

Some examples of phrases are

  • Thanks so much
  • Excuse me
  • (Oh,) never mind
  • I do not understand
  • I am looking for…
  • I am just about to…

Body

Idioms and phrases have differences between them. Idioms are difficult to understand as compared to phrases. A list of idioms is given below with their meanings:-

Some idioms with meaning

  1. A blessing in disguise: – Something good that was not identified before
  2. Add fuel to the fire: – When someone tries to make a bad situation even worse
  3. Beating around the bushes: – Ignoring the main topic and not speaking directly about the issue.
  4. Blood is thicker than water: – it means that the family bond is much closer and more important than any other bond.
  5. A greenhorn: – Inexperienced
  6. By the way: – Incidentally
  7. Life and soul:- Main Support
  8. Narrow-minded: – Does not want to accept others’ viewpoints.
  9. By fits and starts: – Irregularly
  10.  For the time being: – For now

Difference between idiom and phrase

Idiom and phrase have several differences between them. The main difference is that a phrase is a collection of words with some literal meaning i.e. a phrase is understandable, whereas idiom is a collection of words or a single word with no clear meaning and are not easily understandable. They cannot be changed. So, it is important to understand idioms very clearly. Idiom has hidden meaning in it but phrases are very clear. Using a synonym of a phrase is very easy, it does not change any meaning of the phrase but in the case of idiom, no synonyms can be used to replace a word. If done at all, the meaning gets changed. Phrases can be idioms whereas most of the idioms are phrases. An idiom consists of three words or more but there are exceptions when an idiom consists of only one word (For example – moonlight). All phrases have a particular easily understandable meaning but idioms are comparatively difficult to understand and do not have any literal meaning. 

Table of differentiation between idiom and phrase

PHRASE

IDIOM

i) Phrase is easy to understand.

i) Idiom is difficult to understand i.e. one needs to be familiar with idioms to understand it.

ii) Synonyms can be used in a phrase; this does not change its meaning.

ii) Synonyms cannot be used in an idiom; this changes its meaning.

iii) All phrases are not idioms.

iii) All idioms are phrases (exceptions are also present)

iv) Phrase is a collection of words.

iv) Idiom can be a single word

v) Example:- Once in a blue moon

v) Example:- For the time being

Types of Phrases 

There are 7 types of phrases:-

1. Noun Phrase – 

Examples- 

  • It was a story as old as time.
  • Once upon a time, there lived a prince named Charles.

2. Gerund Phrase –

Examples

  • Signing autographs takes time.
  • Moving quickly is the key to survival.

3. Absolute Phrase:-

Examples –

  • Their heads hanging down, the whole group apologized
  • God willing we shall meet again.

4. Infinite Phrase:–

Examples-

  • To make lemonade, you have to start with lemons.
  • The company decided to reduce hours for everyone.

5. Participial Phrases:-

Examples-

  • Painted a brilliant white, the small room appeared bigger.
  • The man walking down the street is suspicious.

6. Appositive Phrase:-

Examples-

  • A cheetah, the fastest land animal, can run 70 miles an hour.
  • My childhood friend, Nick, loved dogs.

7. Prepositional Phrase:-

Examples-

  • Wait for a while, I am coming.
  • She knew it was over the rainbow.

Conclusion

Phrase is a collection of two or more words that is relatively easy to understand. It does not contain any verb or subject. So, it is unable to convey a complete thought. Idiom is a collection of words or a single word with no clear meaning and therefore, is not easily understandable. They cannot be changed. A synonym or anotym cannot be used alternatively with an idiom. One must understand the difference between idiom and phrase and learn some of the examples for improving their daily communication.