Idiom vs. Phrase
This time, we're gonna focus a bit more on grammatical words. I'm sure you've come across these two words at least once. Let's learn about them.
What Is Their Main Difference?
They both refer to a chain of words that have a particular meaning. An 'idiom', however, refers to a saying that has a metaphor and you have to read between the lines in order to understand its meaning. A 'phrase', on the other hand, refers to a chain of words that are part of a clause or a sentence.
Differences
A phrase is a grammatical unit that is comprised of different words chained together. We have five types of 'phrases' in the English language that are 'noun phrases', 'verb phrases', 'adjective phrases', 'adverb phrases', and 'prepositional phrases'. Each phrase is determined by its head. Phrases do not have a subject and a verb and they also do not have complete meanings. Look at the examples below:
Listening to music → Noun phrase
Go to the bathroom → Verb phrase
Stylish woman → Adjective phrase
Very carefully → Adverbial phrase
In the group → Prepositional phrase
An 'idiom', on the other hand, refers to a chain of words that come together to convey a particular meaning. If you separate these words, they will not have the same meaning as they did in the idiom. 'Idioms' are said to have come from different stories in the past. They have metaphorical meanings. Look at the following examples:
Mom said: '
As you can see, this sentence does not have a literal meaning.
I asked him to
Similarities
Both are only similar in that they are comprised of several words together. Take a look at the examples below:
Here, the highlighted part is a prepositional phrase.
You still
Are They Interchangeable?
As it was clear above, these two are completely different structures. So, they cannot be used interchangeably. An 'idiom' has a metaphorical meaning, whereas, a 'phrase' has no complete meaning. It is part of a sentence. Compare:
Joanna has decided
This is an example of an 'idiom'.
The beautiful woman thought it necessary
The highlighted part is an example of a verb phrase.