phrasing is the way you blend your notes together. It can be smooth (legato) or sharp (staccato) It involves techniques such as pull offs, hammer ons, slide etc... If notes are words, rhythm is grammar, phrasing is sentences.

Modes are a way to arranges notes inside an octave (between C and a higher C for example) the best known one is the ionian CDEFGABC, but there 6 others CDEF#GABC is the lydian mode for example.