How do I know when to use affect vs effect?

Question

How do I know when to use affect vs effect?

Answer 1

It's very easy! Just remember the raven.

Remember

Affect 

Verb

Effect

Noun

Answer 2

You can also remember them by alphabetical order. Affect is what happens before the effect and an effect is what happens after the affect. ex. Practicing at the batting cages will affect your batting. The effect will be a higher batting average. (Affect happens first, effect second)

Answer 3

Just building off of what everyone else has already said, I teach my students this simple trick: Affect = Action (A=A), or a verb "The F will affect my grade drastically." (ask yourself if an action is being completed) Effect = rEsult (substitute the word "result" for "effect") "The effect of the F is that my grade dropped." or "The result of the F is that my grade dropped." My students love these little "tricks" that cover the majority of examples. Hope this helps stick affect/effect in your brain!

Answer 4

I have trouble remembering the difference, too, and I have a degree in English and taught English even at the college level, but I have ADD/ADHD, so I always have to stop and think which one is which. So, what I do is I remember that you "affect an effect," and I over-accentuate the first letter/sound of each word to hear the difference. EEEEEfect is "the thing," and AAAAffect is what I do to "the thing." Sounds silly, but I never get it wrong unless I hurry and don't think about it carefully. And then there's always spellcheck and auto-correct as a fallback:) Hope this helps!

Answer 5

To keep it simple, contrast the two statements below. They mean the same thing.

The experience affected me in a profound way.

BUT

The experience had a profound effect on me.

Notice that "affect" is a verb (which expresses action), which may change its form according it the grammatical tense, and "effect" is usually a noun. 

If "effect" is used as a verb ( This will effect the change), it will mean "cause", or "bring about".

 

Answer 6

Affect and effect. Do not be confused. Affect is a verb means "to influence". "The attack affected the morale of the troops." Effect is both a noun and a verb. As a verb it means "to bring to pass" "The medicine effected a complete cure." As a noun effect means "result" "The effect of the medicine was instantaneous."

Answer 7

Affect comes from ad- (meaning 'to') and facere (to do/make).  To affect is to do or cause, hence it is a verb.

Effect comes from ex- (meaning 'out') and facere again.  The effect (noun) is the outcome or result. 

Instead of saying change (which is both noun and verb), to make a change is to affect while the change made is effect.  E.g.: The smog affected her health with only harmful effects.

Answer 8

Affect is a verb. A verb is a doing word or a word used for an action. Examples of other doing words include; read, breath, Greet etc.

On the other hand, Effect, can be a verb or a noun depending on the syllables stressed. Nouns have their first syllable stressed while verbs have there last syllables stressed.

Ef-fect - stress the first syllable (Ef) and its a noun while if stress on the last syllables (-fect) then it is a verb.

The secret to proper usage of these word is knowing whether the usage is as a noun or verb and of course their lexical meaning.

Answer 9

Effect is a noun and affect is a verb. Effect is mainly used to illustrate the result of a previous event. Affect is used to described the event that led to the result. For instance, "Bobby was affected by the loss of his friend. He withdrew socially and contemplated suicide, these issues were the effects of his mourning."

Answer 10

I remember it this way:

 

Effect --> result (they both have the letter 'e') Here, result means to be the outcome of.

Affect --> impact (they both have the letter 'a') Here, impact means to influence.

Answer 11

Affect is a Verb.  Effect is a Noun. When you MAKE a change in something, you AFFECT it.  When something happens and there is a specific result, that specific result is the EFFECT.  That's the most basic way I can describe it without getting into a ton of details that won't mean anything to you.  Affect=Verb; Effect=Noun.  Good luck!

Grace and Peace,

Suzanne Miller

Answer 12

Most simply, as Dannie B. wrote, "affect" is a verb, and "effect" is a noun.  "The lightning burst affected my vision briefly, causing the effect of starbursts in my eyes." This is a terrible sentence, but I hope makes the point.

Answer 13

To add some other differences to Dannie's answer:

You affect something by changing it - the wonderful weather affected my mood!

You effect a change in something - he was strong enough to effect a change in the pressure of the car on my foot.

Something has an effect on you - The effect of the rain was that I was wet.

People see your affect - by noticing my affect, people can tell my mood.

Answer 14

I'll start with an example. You 'affect' something by doing something. For instance, I affect my grades by how much I study. You create an 'effect' when you do something. For example, the effect of my studying improved my grades.

To put it in more technical terms, affect is a verb. You use it when you are doing something by affecting it. Effect is a noun. You use it when something had an effect or there was an effect. 

 

Answer 15

In general, EFFECT is a noun, and AFFECT is a verb.

Examples:

"Rain has a depressing effect on some people, but I find it peaceful & calming."

"The rainy day affected his mood negatively."

Keep in mind, it's fairly easy to "convert" a sentence from one to the other, as in:

"Rain affects some people's mood negatively."

"The rainy day had a negative effect on his mood."

I point this out because (1) this is how some people confuse themselves and mix them up, and (2) each sentence has a different feel to it, so you can decide which one to use based on how you want to structure your sentence and your writing to sound.

There are exceptions, but they're not very common....the one I see most often is "affect" used as a noun meaning an appearance or expression someone has, as in "he had a joyful affect" -- his face and body language indicated that he was happy.

When I first learned the difference and was trying to keep them straight, I decided the A in AFFECT also stood for ATTACK, just because it's a very active & energetic verb :) The A can also stand for ACTION. In my experience, the best mnemonic devices are ones you come up with yourself using ideas already in your head; acronyms & acrostics just become another thing to remember.

Answer 16

write the a so it could pass as an a or an e

then you don't have to worry which is correct

problem solved, regardless who sides with affect or effect

Answer 17

Here is your answer:

Affect is a verb meaning to influence while effect is a noun meaning the result or consequence

Answer 18

Hey there! Let's chat about when to use "affect" versus "effect".

Affect

1. Type: Verb
2. What it means: When you want to talk about something that causes a change or influences something else.
3. Imagine saying: "That movie really affected my mood."
4. Tip: Think of it as an action. When you're doing something that makes a difference, you're affecting it.

Effect

1. Type: Noun (most of the time)
2. What it means: This is all about the result or the outcome that comes after something happens.
3. Picture it like this: "The effect of getting a good night’s sleep was that I felt energized all day."
4. Tip: Think of the end result. The effect is what you see once the action has taken place.

A Quick Way to Decide

When you're chatting and you want to describe something happening (the action), use "affect." When it comes to describing the result or outcome of that action, go with "effect."

I hope this helps! If you have more questions or need further examples, just let me know.

Answer 19

You will almost never use the word "effect" because it just means the direct effect of something.

All other times you will basically just be using some version of "affect"

Something can even affect the effect of the experiment for example.

Answer 20

Really great answers here! I.e., RAVEN to Remember AFFECT is a VERB + EFFECT is a NOUN.

Learning affect and effect with *collocations is something I don't see mentioned yet. *Collocations are words that frequently go together. These can be found in certain dictionaries. You can learn more and how to use the words by learning in chunks once you have the basic meaning.

Examples:

. . . decisions that affect our lives

. . . the areas affected by the hurricane

. . . the harmful effects of . . .

. . . the long-term effects of . . .

Answer 21

I always teach my students that Affect is the Action, and Effect is the End Result. A=A and E=E. Students seem to never forget.

Answer 22

I always help my student with this memory jog:

Effect = noun and Affect = verb.

Only nouns can have an article (a, an, the) in front of them. So, I say remember this "The effect" with the two "e" letters right next to each other. That reminds you that if you are talking about a thing , you go effect

The medicine's effects were immediate, and I soon felt better."

But if it is an action , go for affect.

"The medicine affected me quickly, and I soon felt better."

Answer 23

Affect is a verb and effect is a noun. Think of it this way: affect means to change or influence while effect means result.

Here are some examples:

The house fire affected the family.

The effect of the house fire is the family losing their belongings.

The illness affected the child’s temperature.

An effect of the illness is a high temperature.

Another trick is that if you can put the or an in front of it, it is most likely effect.

Answer 24

Affect = (verb) to influence or cause something to happen to a person, object/noun, or phenomenon.

Used in a sentence:

The gloomy weather affected my mood today.

Effect = (noun) the result / outcome / consequence of a cause.

Used in a sentence:

Have you ever heard of the Mandela Effect? It's when everyone believes that an event happened when it did not.

Answer 25

Effect is used in the sense of like when we say cause and effect. Affect is applied in situations where there is an emotional context, like talking about the personality of the person, or the emotional state of being.

Answer 26

Use the first letter of each word and it helps tremendously. "A" is for action!

"Running will affect your heart."

"It's effect is that your resting heart rate will go down."

"Effect" is what happens after that action.

Hope this helps!

Answer 27

Personally, I remember it by considered affect to be a verb and for effect to be a noun.

As in, affect is used when something acts on or produces a change in something else. You'd use it like:

"The cold began to affect my health."

Effect is used to describe the result of the change or the action.

"The medicine has no side effects."

Answer 28

It affects me greatly to see any animal abused.

Watching a video of animal abuse has a very negative effect on me.

Answer 29

Just think of it as:

Affect begins with A, like Action

Affect is an Action word (verb) ...so use affect as a verb, and effect would then be used as the noun.

Answer 30

Affect is usually a verb meaning"to produce an effect upon,"as in "the weather affected his mood.Effect is usually a noun meaning" a change that result when something is done or happens,"as in,"computer have had a huge effect on our lives."There are expections, but if you think of affect as a verb and effect as a noun, you'll be right a majority of a time

Answer 31

The differencee in the use of affect and effect is easy to explain. You use affect when something is going to affect you, example: The music will affect my mood. Effect is used when you are trying to make something apply to a situation or a person. Example: The new law will effect change.

Affect: how it will change or alter you or your situation

Effect: something you notice to change an outcome.

Answer 32

Quite simply, affect is a verb, and effect is a noun!

Answer 33

there are several ways, and I strongly suggest you use one that will be easy to remember. I tell my younger students to bear in mind that A is at the (near) opposite end of the alphabet as V (for 'verb); E being closer to N (for noun.)

Naturally, you could commit to memory that one, affect, is a verb (A) [with one exception - one presents with an affect]; E, effect, is the noun.

Hope that helps!

Good luck,

Trisha

Answer 34

I think about it this way. Special Effects in movies - thunder, lighting, lasers, etc. are nouns - things right? There are used to create an emotion in the viewer- it is there to affect them.

The special effects of the creepy sound before Jason appears has a strange affect on me. That's how I keep it straight in my head. Yes - one is a noun and one is a verb,but thinking about special effects all being things- or nouns keep it straight for me.

Answer 35

Quite a few answers here suggest that affect is a verb and effect is a noun; each word is both a noun and a verb. I'll add my voice to the "four forms" crowd and offer some examples.

1. To affect (verb): to impact, alter, or change something.
2. "Tai affected how the student answered the question when he winced partway through."
3. Affect (noun): originally from psychology, a persona or mannerism that one adopts
4. "Susan had a flat affect, giving off very few cues as to how she felt."
5. To effect (verb): to bring about, create, or cause something
6. "The arrival of the coronavirus effected many changes in the educational system, such as a rapid and complete transition to online learning for many teachers who had never taught online before."
7. Effect (noun): the/a result of something
8. "Providing students with prescriptive grammar rules often has the effect of reinforcing a view of language as a performance of surface correctness rather than a process of making meaning."

It is possible for these words to exist near each other in sentences in ways that create interesting meanings. Often I see people pairing "effect" (noun) with "affect" (verb) in their example sentences, so I want to highlight e(v)/a(v), e(n)/a(n), and e(v)/a(n):

1. "The #metoo movement both affected [altered] and effected [brought about] changes in Hollywood. Initiatives to support women in Hollywood which had received little attention before saw a sudden surge in donations and public interest, and studios raced to put new systems of accountability in place."
2. "One effect [result] of Prof. Valluri's naturally bubbly affect [persona/manner] was that students often initially underestimated her deep expertise and academic seriousness."
3. "One time, a student attempted to mansplain #metoo to Prof. Valluri. The effect on her affect was instant...she went from bubbly to boiling in no time at all."

Answer 36

Affect- (v) to impact or produce a change in something/someone

Effect- (n) the result of a change

For example:

Kate's polite remarks affected peoples' liking of her.

The effect of Kate's polite remarks was people liking her.

Answer 37

I think of it in this way:

If the sentence points toward an action, then use "affect", such as "Sunshine affects the growth of the roses." or "The beautiful day affected her feelings and caused her to dance!"

If the sentence points backward toward an action, then use "effect", as in "Too much sunshine had the effect of wilting the roses" or "She worried that the sun would have a harmful effect on her skin."

But, as usual in the English language, things are not always so simple.

There is the occasional use of "affect" as a noun: "The nurse reported that the patient had a flat affect."

Or the sometime use of "effect" as a verb: "They considered effecting a change in their work-life balance."

Answer 38

Since determining when to use effect versus affect continues to be a problem for most, note that many have replaced effect or affect with impact! That's the simple solution.

Effect is usually (more often than not) used as a noun.

Affect is usually (more often than not) used as a verb.

Answer 39

Let's look at the dictionary:

AFFECT:

verb (used with object)

- to act on; produce an effect or change in: "Cold weather affected the crops."

- to impress the mind or move the feelings of:"The music affected him deeply."

- (of pain, disease, etc.) to attack or lay hold of.

noun

- Psychology. feeling or emotion. (NB: Only used in Psychology. A feeling, not an effect.)

- Psychiatry. an expressed or observed emotional response. (NB: Only used in Psychiatry. An emotional response, not an effect.)

EFFECT:

noun

- something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence: "Exposure to the sun had the effect of toughening his skin."

- power to produce results; efficacy; force; validity; influence: "His protest had no effect."

- the state of being operative or functional; operation or execution; accomplishment or fulfillment: "to bring a plan into effect."

- a mental or emotional impression produced, as by a painting or a speech: "Its effect on the audience was clearly visible."

- meaning or sense; purpose or intention: "She disapproved of the proposal and wrote to that effect."

verb (used with object)

- to produce as an effect; bring about; accomplish; make happen: "The new machines finally effected the transition to computerized accounting last spring."

Note: The most important is to wonder, when we say "This had a positive affect", whether we mean to say "This had a positive emotional response" to a Psychiatrist and, when we say "This effected him greatly", whether we mean to say "This greatly brought about (what?) in him".

Answer 40

Read through all of these posts aloud and add emphasis to the /ae/ sound in affect (think 'cat') and the /eh/ sound in effect (think 'egg'). By the time you're done, it should be drilled in your head.

Also, effect  is a noun, think special effects.

 

Answer 41

There are several differences between affect and effect that can help to distinguish which should be used.

The word affect means to change something by definition whereas effect is the result of a change.

For example: The test grade affects the students chances of getting into an AP program

Versus: Chemists measure the effects of various solutions.

The word affect is used as a noun and the word effect is used as a verb.

When in doubt first see what works best in the sentence pronouncing it both ways. Then check if it is used as a noun or as something that is happening ( a verb). Finally double-check the definition within the context of which it is used. Hope this helps.

Answer 42

Hi Lucy!

Think of 'affect' as causing something and 'effect' as an outcome. I hope that this helps.

Kind regards,

Don M.

Answer 43

From Grammar.QuickandDirtyTips.com

 

Affect Versus Effect

Episode 121: July 29, 2008
Word Choice

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Tip Sponsored By

by Mignon Fogarty

This is an expanded show based on the original episode covering when to use affect with an a and when to use effect with an e.

I get asked whether to use affect or effect all the time and it is by far the most requested grammar topic, so I have a few mnemonics and a cartoon to help you remember.

What Is the Difference Between Affect and Effect?

Before we get to the memory trick though, I want to explain the difference between the two words.

It's actually pretty straightforward. The majority of the time you use affect with an a as a verb and effect with an e as a noun.

When Should You Use Affect?

Affect with an a means "to influence," as in, "The arrows affected Aardvark," or "The rain affected Amy's hairdo." Affect can also mean, roughly, "to act in a way that you don't feel," as in, "She affected an air of superiority."

When Should You UseEffect?

Effect with an e has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, you can say, "The effect was eye-popping," or "The sound effects were amazing," or "The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo."

Common Uses of Affect and Effect

Most of the time affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun.

So most of the time affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun. There are rare instances where the roles are switched, and I'll get to those later, but for now let's focus on the common meanings. This is "Quick and Dirty" grammar, and my impression from your questions is that most people have trouble remembering the basic rules of when to use these words, so if you stick with those, you'll be right 95% of the time.

So, most of the time, affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun; and now we can get to the mnemonics. First, the mnemonic involves a very easy noun to help you remember: aardvark. Yes, if you can remember aardvark -- a very easy noun -- you'll always remember that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun. Why? Because the first letters of "a very easy noun" are the same first letters as "affect verb effect noun!" That's a very easy noun. Affect (with an a) verb effect (with an e) noun.

"But why Aardvark?" you ask. Because there's also an example to help you remember. It's "The arrows affected Aardvark. The effect was eye-popping." It should be easy to remember that affect with an a goes with the a-words, arrow and aardvark, and that effect with an e goes with the e-word, eye-popping. If you can visualize the sentences, "The arrows affected the aardvark. The effect was eye-popping," it's pretty easy to see that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun.

The illustration of the example is from my new book. It's Aardvark being affected by arrows, and I think looking at it will help you remember the example sentences; and it's cute. You can print it out and hang it by your desk.

So a very easy noun will help you remember that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun, and the example will help you see how to use both words in a sentence.

Rare Uses of Affect and Effect

So what about those rare meanings that don't follow the rules I just gave you? Well, affect can be used as a noun when you're talking about psychology--it means the mood that someone appears to have. For example, "She displayed a happy affect." Psychologists find it useful because they know that you can never really understand what someone else is feeling. You can only know how they appear to be feeling.

And, effect can be used as a verb that essentially means "to bring about," or "to accomplish." For example, you could say, "Aardvark hoped to effect change within the burrow."

Administrative

If you have a question for the show, send an e-mail message to [email protected] or post it to me on Facebook or Twitter.

That's all. Thanks for listening.

Thanks to Randall Munroe from XKCD.com who drew the stickman cartoon.

 

 

Answer 44

Danny and Christine are right,except that "to effect" can also be a verb (obviously): as in "to effect  change".(not meaning to steal Maurice's example,but that is the one I had thought of too.)

Maurice,however, is mistaken: something has an "affect" on you,not an effect.