Affect vs. Effect: Clear Up the Confusion!

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Few mistakes are more common in English than mixing up affect and effect. Whether it’s because the words are just so similar in spellingor because they are essentially pronounced the samewe can’t tell (although it probably has something to do with both of those things).

You’ve probably made the mistake of mixing the two of them up countless timesresearched the proper usechanged itand then forgotten all about the difference again by the next time you come to use them. Wellthis guide should take you through the meaning of both of these wordswith examples to highlight the difference between the two and how to use them correctly in a sentence.

When to Use Affect vs. Effect

When to Use Affect (as a Noun and Verb)

Affect as a Verb

Starting first with affect thenlet’s take a look at the definition of the wordand look at some sentences where affect is used correctly. Affect is usually (although not always) used as a verb in a sentence. The verb affect is used to show that something has had an influence upon something else. To affect somethingis to change it in some way either through influencing it or altering it. Let’s take a look at some examples where affect is used correctly.

“The children’s tiredness affected their test results.”

In the above exampleyou can see that affect is being used as a verb – it’s most common usage – because it is being stated that the children’s tiredness directly impacted upon their test results. Rememberwe use affected to show that something has impacted upon something else to make a change.

“The rain could affect the crops this year if it doesn’t stop.”

Againaffect is being used as a verb. The rain is impacting upon the crops in the sentenceso affect is used to show this.

Affect as a Noun

So far you’ve probably followed along relatively easilybut now we need to confuse things slightly. Affect can also be used as a noun (though it is much less common). Affect as a noun is most often found in psychologybecause somebody’s affect is their emotionsbody languagefacial expressions etc. that relate to an emotion. You might come across affect being used as a noun if you watch criminal documentaries where a psychologist might be asked to look at somebody’s behavior for example. Here’s how affect would be used as a noun.

“You can really see that his affect is typical of a serial killer.”

Here affect is being used as a noun to show that somebody’s emotionsbody languagefacial expressions etc. are similar to those typically found in a serial killer. Affect as a noun relates to these physical manifestations of emotion.

“His affect would certainly indicate depression.”

Againthis is using affect as a noun because it is describing somebody’s physical manifestations of emotion.

When to Use Effect (as a Noun and Verb)

Effect as a Noun

In the opposite way round to affect, effect is much more commonly used as a noun (although it can also be used as a verb toobut this is less common). Effect as a noun means a change that is done when something happensit is used in a similar way to consequence or result. You would notice the effect of somethingif something happened that caused a change. Here are some examples of effect being used correctly as a noun.

“His top grade was an effect of his hard work.”

Effect is being used as a noun here to show that his top grade was a result of his hard work. The hard work that he put in had an effect on his final grade. You could just as easily replace effect with result or consequenceand the sentence would make sense.

Effect as a Verb

Of coursethe English language loves complicating things further whenever it canso effect can also be used as a verb. In this casethe verb effect means to bring about or to cause or achieve something. Rememberverbs are always showing action in some wayso ask yourself if you are trying to show action with the verb effect or not. This should help you to know which version of effect you should use.

“You will need to effect these edits by tomorrow.”

Effect is being used as a verb here because you can see that somebody is telling somebody else that they will need to make the edits by tomorrow. The verb effect can be replaced by ‘bring about’ or ‘achieve’ in this sentence and it would make sense.

“We can not effect a change this late on.”

Againeffect is being used as a verb here as into effectto bring about a changeor to achieve something.

Effect vs. Affect: Exercises

There are also a few more points to address. While we can “effective” as an adjective to describe somethingwe wouldn’t say something is “affective.” “Effective” means that something works well or that it has the desired “effect.” “Affective” is a word usually associated with psychology. This refers to mental statesmoodsor conditions.

So let’s look at some more examples and see which ones use affect vs. effect the correct way taking climate change as an example:

1. When the effects/affects of climate change become worsethe economy will change.

2. Walking or taking public transportation is an effective/affective way to reduce carbon pollution.

3. That’s because when fewer people use carsit effects/affects the amount of carbon we produce.

4. If people used cars lessthe effects/affects would greatly help reduce the impact of this issue.

Sohow did it go? Do you know the answer?

Numbers 1 and 2 should be “effects” and “effective.” For number 1we use “effects” because it is something that has already happened (the result). For number 2we should use “effective” because the focus of the sentence is more about reaching the desired goal and doesn’t really deal with psychologystate of mindor someone’s mood.

Numbers 3 and 4 should be “affects” and “effects.” In number 3the action of not using a car directly impacts the amount of carbon that is put into the air (an action is being taken that changes it). In number 4we are talking about what results the previous action would bring about. In this caseit isn’t something that happenedbut something that is likely to happen as a result of future actions taken (just remember that results have an “effect”).

Related Confused Words

Affective vs. Effective

Affective is an adjective that describes something that is either a result of emotionsexpresses an emotionor is influenced by emotions. On the other handEffective is an adjective that describes something that leads to the result that you want.

Examples:

• These important decisions are made by the affective system.
• The company has done some effective marketing of the new model.

The reason why there might be confusion between these two words is that it seems that affective comes from the verb affect which has a completely different meaning. Howeverif you remember that actually it comes from the noun affect and has to do with emotionsyou won’t have any problems with using this word correctly in a sentence.

Learn more: Affective vs. Effective 

Affected vs. Effected

Affected means “created an effect onchanged in some way”. When we say that something affected somethingwe mean that the subject made some kind of impact on the object. Effectedon the other handmeans “produced somethingbrought about”. Thereforeif something effected somethingthe other way of saying this is that the subject caused something to happen.

• The whole world would be affected by a nuclear war.
• The transfer of power was effected swiftly and peacefully.

There is a general rule that will help you remember which word needs to be used when. Things that already exist are affected. Howeverthings that need to be createdthat didn’t exist beforeare usually effected.

Affect vs. Effect | Videos

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Explore more:

• Affected vs. Effected
• Take Effect vs. Take Affect

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