What is the difference between affect and effect?
In general, “affect” is a verb, and “effect” is a noun. “Affect” means to influence or cause a change, as in “The weather can affect our mood.” Whereas “effect” means the result or outcome of something, as in “The effect of the new policy was evident in increased productivity.”
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Confused Words: Affect And Effect
The use of the words affect and effect is confusing even for native speakers. The confusion is the result of three main reasons:
- Apart from the a for “affect” and the e for “effect“, both words are spelled almost similarly.
- Both words are pronounced similarly by a lot of native speakers.
- The difference in meaning between” affect” and effect is so slippery.
So What’s The Difference Between Affect And Effect?
Let’s explore the difference between affect and effect
affect
The word “affect” is mainly used as a verb and it means to influence, to produce a change in something, or to make a difference to.
Examples:
- Smoking began to affect his health.
- My father’s death affected me greatly.
- The recession affected the buying power of the dollar.
The word affect is also used as a noun in psychology to mean feeling or emotion. But this use is rare.
Example:
- Affect is a key part of the process of an organism’s interaction with stimuli.
Effect
The word effect is usually used as a noun and means a result, consequence, impression, etc.
Examples:
- What effect did the drug have on his mind?
- His warnings had no effect on her behavior.
- Music can have a healing effect.
The word effect can add to the confusion when it is used as a verb to mean to produce, to cause to come into being, or to bring about.
Example:
- The new government is trying to effect a change in foreign policy.
How to Distinguish Between Affect and Effect
Most of the time, “affect” is a verb, and “effect” is a noun. A quick and practical rule would be to substitute “affect” with other verbs and effect with other nouns to see if they make sense.
Examples:
1. affect = to transform, to change…
- Drugs have affected / transformed/ changed his mind.
Since to transform and to change are verbs and can be substitutes for the word affect then affect is used as a verb in the above sentence.
2. effect = consequence, result..
- What effect / consequence / result did the drug have on his mind?
Since consequence and result are nouns and can be substitutes for the word “effect” then “effect” is used as a noun in the above sentence.
In A Nutshell
Generally speaking, “affect” is a verb, and “effect” is a noun. “Affect” means to influence or produce a change, as in “The weather can affect our mood.” While “effect” means the result or outcome of something, as in “The effect of the new policy was evident in increased productivity.”
Check A List Of Confused Words
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