Difference Between Threw and Through

What is Threw?

The word “threw” is the second form or the past-tense form of the word “throw”. “Throw” primarily functions as a verb. It can work either as a transitive verb or an intransitive verb. When “throw” is used in the past indefinite tense, it becomes “threw”. The meaning of this word varies from context to context.

Generally, “threw” is used when something is sent forth in the air using the hand. For example, in “I threw the ball to him,” this word shows the action whereby I sent the ball from my hands to his.

“Threw” is also used in the past tense when you mean that any of your body parts were moved forcefully by you on/onto something. For example, the sentence “I threw myself in the bed” is a clear example of this usage.

In informal situations, “threw” is also used in collocation with the word “party”. For example, “He is going to throw a marvelous party.” Here, it means that someone is planning to offer a party, typically to his friends or family.

What is Through?

Through is a widely used preposition that comes with multiple meanings in different contexts of speech and writing. The most commonly comprehended meaning of this word is that “from one end of something to the other”.

Suppose someone is walking from one side of a crowd to the other; the sentence for such a situation would be, “He is walking through the crowd.” Here, “through” means that he has traveled from one point to another point of something.

This word is also used to mean hearing, feeling, seeing, or sensing from the other side of something, especially a thick and solid surface like a wall. For example, “I could see him through the window.” This means that he was visible to me from the window.

In another context, it means passing from the frontal part of something. For example, “Pass through the main gate.” It is also used to imply “by means of”. For example, in the sentence, “He realized he could achieve his goals only through hard work.”

Difference Between Threw and Through

  1. The difference between “threw” and “through” is basically of the grammatical categories.
  2. “Threw” is a verb form that can either be transitive or intransitive as per the context.
  3. Whereas “through” is a preposition with multiple meanings like “by means of”, “sensing something from the other side (of a thick thing)”, and “from one point to another”.
  4. Since “threw” is a verb form, it does not remain the same in all tense forms and may change into “throw” and “thrown”.
  5.  “Through” is a preposition; therefore, its form is fixed and unchangeable in all tenses.

Comparison Table Between Threw and Through

Parameters of ComparisonThrewThrough
The Root of the WordIt is a more modified form of the Old English “thrāwan”Its root can be seen in the Old English “thurh”
Grammatical CategoriesIt remains a verb form that can either be transitive or intransitiveIt is a commonly used preposition with diverse meanings
Changeability of FormIt changes its apparent forms into “throw” and “thrown”“Through” is unchangeable in its form with regard to tenses
Semantic Flexibility  This word has more meanings in the languageThis has a limited number of meanings in the dictionary
Frequency of Usage“Threw” is a verb form that is lesser in terms of usageBeing a preposition, it is used more commonly in speech

References

  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022537172800318
  2. https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books?perPage=100&pageSize=20&page=55