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Understanding the difference between commonly confused words will help you avoid making errors in English usage. Let’s examine the difference between the following:
This pair of words can be quite tricky. In fact, according to Barron’s, a leading SAT preparation course, mixing up these two words is one of the most common errors students make on standardized tests. These words are also among the most looked-up in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.
Affect and effect can each be both verbs and nouns. You’ll see affect used most frequently as a verb, however, and effect more commonly as a noun.
In most uses of the words affect and effect, the rule is this: if you affect something, it is likely to result in an effect of some sort.
affect
Affect as a verb means to make a difference to something, to act on or produce a change, to influence or have an effect on, or to touch someone’s emotions.
Constant stress and lack of sleep began to affect Linda’s health.
Rick was deeply affected by George’s kindness during the crisis.Affect as a verb can also mean to pretend to have a feeling or manner (to put on a false show), or to imitate or simulate.
Sam tried to affect a Scottish accent for his role as Macbeth, but his Texas twang kept coming through.In its rare use as a noun, affect is found chiefly in psychology and refers to emotional expressiveness or response.
Hazel’s flat affect after her mother’s death caused her doctor to worry that she was depressed.
effect
Effect as a noun means a change that is a result, outcome, or consequence of an action or other cause; the power to produce an outcome; advantage; being in full force; or a particular impression. As the plural noun effects, it means personal belongings.
Marilyn’s warnings had no effect on her teenage son’s recklessness.
The white walls and large windows gave the room the effect of being more spacious than it actually was.
The new rules come into effect on January 1st.Effect, when used less commonly as a verb, means to produce, bring about, or to make happen.
The president’s policies effected major changes in the lives of the citizens.To compare affect and effect as verbs, consider these sentences:
Kelly’s new spending habits effected savings.This implies that new savings were brought about.
Kelly’s new spending habits affected her savings.This implies that the savings Kelly already had were changed.
☛ Here’s a tip to help you remember that most of the time, affect is a verb and effect is a noun. Verbs involve action, and affect starts with a for action. Effect can be linked to the phrase cause and effect, which describes the result of an action and in which both terms are nouns.
Another tip: If you can substitute the verb alter, then affect is probably the right word. If the noun result works better, then effect is the better choice.
Let’s see this tip in action:
The side effects of the medication Nora took affected her stomach.
In the example above, you could say that the results of taking the medication altered Nora’s stomach.
Photo credits:
Photo 1 Image by Barroa_Artworks from Pixabay
Photo 2: Image by Anastasia Gepp from Pixabay