The words “affect” and “effect” are often misused.
“Affect” is a verb that means “to influence,” as in “the headache affected his ability to concentrate.” “Effect” is a noun that means the result, as in “the effect was amazing.” How can you remember the difference? Try any or all of these approaches.
- First, “affect” is close to the word “affection” and, as we all know, affection definitely “influences” behavior.
- Second, the term “cause and effect” can remind you that “effect” means “result.”
- Third, try the articles “the,” “a” or “an” in front of the word in the sentence. If it makes sense, then use “effect.”
- Finally, think of the word “vane.” This stands for verb=affect / noun=effect. (Rosalind Warfield-Brown is credited with this tip on the Columbia Journalism Review’s website.)
Note: There are a few exceptions to these rules. “Effect” can be used as a verb meaning “to cause,” and “affect” can be a noun meaning “the display of an emotion,” but these uses are not very common.
