Is it Affect or Effect? Study the following definitions and the examples below: af-fect (v.t.)1. to have an effect on; influence 2. to stir the emotions of 3. to like to use, wear, etc. 4. to make a pretense of being, feeling, etc. ef-fect (n)1. anything brought about by a cause; result 2. the power to cause results 3. (v.t) to bring about; accomplish. Affect: 1. The rain affected the football match. 2. Her beauty greatly affected me. 3. He affects big words, but doesn´t really know what they mean. 4. He affects an honest man, but he is really a criminal. Effect: 1. What was the effect of the advertising campaign? 2. The new drug may have an effect on life as we know it. 3. The new football manager has effected much improvement. Ach jo, so how does one make sense of all this? With native English speakers the answer is simple: just ignore it. When a native speaker uses one of these words in conversation, the pronunciation is so similar that no one can tell the difference, and no one will think „did he say effect or affect?“ But what happens when one must write one of these words? Then this same native speaker must either guess the correct meaning, or choose another word. Neither is a way to live one´s life, and you, dear student, will not be in this situation, because you will know how to use these horrible words. Tips First of all, if what you want is a noun, then almost certainly the word you want is effect. Affect as a noun is used almost only in the field of psychology. So the big tip here is not to become a psychologist, and you won´t have to worry about it. Second, if you are looking for a verb that means to influence, then what you need is affect. So if you can put influence in place of the word you want and it still makes sense, it must be affect. Let´s look at an example: The rain influenced the football match.

Affect or Effect

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Grammar at its best

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Is it Affect or Effect?

Study the following definitions and the examples below:

af-fect (v.t.)1. to have an effect on; influence 2. to stir the emotions of 3. to like to use, wear, etc. 4. to make a pretense of being, feeling, etc.ef-fect (n)1. anything brought about by a cause; result 2. the power to cause results 3. (v.t) to bring about; accomplish.

Affect:

1. The rain affected the football match.2. Her beauty greatly affected me.3. He affects big words, but doesnt really know what they mean.4. He affects an honest man, but he is really a criminal.

Effect:

1. What was the effect of the advertising campaign?2. The new drug may have an effect on life as we know it.3. The new football manager has effected much improvement.

Ach jo, so how does one make sense of all this? With native English speakers the answer is simple: just ignore it. When a native speaker uses one of these words in conversation, the pronunciation is so similar that no one can tell the difference, and no one will think did he say effect or affect? But what happens when one must write one of these words? Then this same native speaker must either guess the correct meaning, or choose another word. Neither is a way to live ones life, and you, dear student, will not be in this situation, because you will know how to use these horrible words.

Tips

First of all, if what you want is a noun, then almost certainly the word you want is effect. Affect as a noun is used almost only in the field of psychology. So the big tip here is not to become a psychologist, and you wont have to worry about it.

Second, if you are looking for a verb that means to influence, then what you need is affect. So if you can put influence in place of the word you want and it still makes sense, it must be affect. Lets look at an example:

The rain influenced the football match.
The rain affected the football match.

See, the meaning is more or less the same, so we have chosen the correct word, and therefore do not look like idiots. This is good.

Third, if you are looking for a verb which means to bring about, then the one you want is effect. Lets look again:

The new football manager has brought about much improvement.The new football manager has effected much improvement.

Ah ha, you see, in this sentence brought about means the same thing as effect, so therefore we have once again chosen correctly. See how clever we are?

And finally, there are a couple of multi-word verbs you should know:

To take effect and to go into effect both mean the same thing: to begin to influence or become operable. For example:

The drug takes effect very quickly. (influence)The new regulation goes into effect in April. (become operable)

There is a slight difference in usage, as you would never say The drug goes into effect But it is possible to say The new regulation takes effect. Consult Mr. Slovnk for further information on these two phrases.

This brings our study of affect and effect to a close. If you dont do well with this at first, dont worry, you will learn it in time. This is an extremely difficult thing to master, so much so that most textbooks dont even teach it. But I know you will effect great surprise on native speakers when they see you can affect the way you learn grammar in a positive way!

Tips