What's the difference between affect and effect?

Answer 1

A lot of people confuse affect and effect. The most common uses are:

Affect as a verb, meaning to influence or change something.

Example: "This wildfire smoke is really affecting my health."

Effect as a noun, meaning the result of some change.

Example: "The effects of the wildfires won't be fully understood for years."

But also affect can sometimes be a noun, meaning feeling or emotion. This is mostly used in psychology.

Example: "She had an anxious affect because of the smoke."

And effect can sometimes be a verb, meaning to cause something.

Example: "The wildfires effected a change in the level of air pollution."

Isn't English fun? You can learn to be a more effective writer by using words precisely.

Answer 2

This is a problem even adults have, including adults whose first language is English! FEAR NOT, friends, there is an easy way to remember the difference!

1. Affect starts with A and describes an action.
2. Example: Your actions affected her.
3. Effect starts with E and describes an event.
4. Example: Those events were the effects of how you treated her.

There you have it! There's an easy way to LEVEL UP your grammar skills!