Affect vs. Effect
Today, our grammar quest brings us to the most perilous adventure in word confusion: Affect versus Effect!
These two get me mixed up all the time, so let's make this simple. :)
(Image from Grammarly: Affect vs. Effect: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/affect-vs-effect/)
The Basics:
Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun.
As a reminder, a verb is an action word and a noun means a person, place, thing, or idea.
Affect means “to influence” and Effect is the result of influence.
The rain affected Alfie by soaking through his Star Wars backpack and wrecking his Doctor Strange comic.
Here, the rain is performing an action (verb). We could replace affected with other verbs to confirm we've used the right word: The rain drizzled on Alfie. The rain dampened Alfie. And so on.
The effect of the rain on Alfie was to make his day rather sad.
Now we're referring to an idea (noun)--the idea of what the rain did to Alfie. The rain's effect was frustrating.
Grammarist states these usages in a neat little sentence: “When you affect something, it produces an effect.”1
Affect (verb)—more examples, please!
Superman affected time by reversing the planet’s rotation.
Calling Ghostbusters will affect a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man invasion to city satisfaction.
Cybermen negatively affect human health.
Remember, you can replace affect with another verb to double check correctness.
Effect (noun)—be the superhero.
The grand effect of the Improbability Drive is its ability to move through all of space in a single instance of time.
Steve Rogers’ transformation into Captain America was due to the effect of successful genetic experimentation.
Loki’s “glow stick of destiny” had disastrous effects in New York City.
To check usage, try replacing effect with result (or a similar noun). If you can, then you’ve used it correctly!
Now for the fun *cough cough* stuff...
Affect (verb)—more examples, please!
Superman affected time by reversing the planet’s rotation.
Calling Ghostbusters will affect a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man invasion to city satisfaction.
Cybermen negatively affect human health.
Remember, you can replace affect with another verb to double check correctness.
Effect (noun)—be the superhero.
The grand effect of the Improbability Drive is its ability to move through all of space in a single instance of time.
Steve Rogers’ transformation into Captain America was due to the effect of successful genetic experimentation.
Loki’s “glow stick of destiny” had disastrous effects in New York City.
To check usage, try replacing effect with result (or a similar noun). If you can, then you’ve used it correctly!
Now for the fun *cough cough* stuff...
The day grammar became a pirate: Effect can be a verb, too.
Effect becomes a verb when it means “to bring about.”
Donna Noble effects positive change as “Doctor Donna” when the Daleks steal Earth.
The most common form we see for Effect the Verb is "to effect change." Beyond this, I don't think it's used much.
Affect likes to get quirky, as well.
Affect has a variation within its verb form applicable for when someone is doing something false:
Effect becomes a verb when it means “to bring about.”
Donna Noble effects positive change as “Doctor Donna” when the Daleks steal Earth.
The most common form we see for Effect the Verb is "to effect change." Beyond this, I don't think it's used much.
Affect likes to get quirky, as well.
Affect has a variation within its verb form applicable for when someone is doing something false:
The possum affected death by flipping upside down and flopping out its tongue when Ruffles the dog ran past.
Affect can be a noun when talking about mood.
When talking about psychology, Affect can become a noun.
Alfie displays a depressive affect after the rain incident.
Anna puts on an extra happy affect to cheer up Alfie.
1 Sarah Belliston, "Affect vs. effect," Grammarist (blog), March 37, 2015 accessed, http://grammarist.com/usage/affect-effect/.
Resources:
Grammarly: Affect vs. Effect
Grammar Girl: Affect versus Effect
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/affect-versus-effect
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/affect-versus-effect
Oxford Dictionaries: Affect or Effect: a Visual Guide
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