what's the difference between...?

Question

effect and affect.

english isnt my first language, so im still learning. i looked both words up in the dictionary but im still having problems understanding.

Since the first two ansers were equally helpful and posted within seconds of each other, i'm putting this to a vote.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Answer 1

Most commonly, EFFECT is a noun and AFFECT is a verb.

The hot weather has an EFFECT on your mood. (noun)
The hot weather AFFECTS your mood. (verb)


Less commonly, AFFECT can be a noun. It is a psychological term related to how others perceive someone's personality and emotional level.

People who are depressed have a sad AFFECT. (noun)

Also less commonly, EFFECT can be a verb, meaning "to cause to happen".

The corporations EFFECTED a succesful merger. (verb)


Edit: Thanks, jurydoc!

Answer 2

There are four distinct words here. When “affect” is accented on the final syllable (a-FECT), it is a verb meaning “have an influence on”: “The million-dollar donation from the industrialist did not affect my vote against the Clean Air Act.” A much rarer meaning is indicated when the word is accented on the first syllable (AFF-ect), meaning “emotion.” In this case the word is used mostly by psychiatrists and social scientists— people who normally know how to spell it. The real problem arises when people confuse the first spelling with the second: “effect.” This too can be two different words. The more common one is a noun: “When I left the stove on, the effect was that the house filled with smoke.” When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it. The less common is a verb meaning “to create”: “I’m trying to effect a change in the way we purchase widgets.” No wonder people are confused. Note especially that the proper expression is not “take affect” but “take effect”—become effective. Hey, nobody ever said English was logical: just memorize it and get on with your life.

The stuff in your purse? Your personal effects.

Answer 3

The difference between effect and affect is something that most people, even those who speak English as their first language, have trouble understanding.

Sometimes the difference is very obscure and there are exceptions to every rule, but try to think of it this way.

Effect is the final result or the description of something that is happening.

For example: special effects--description of how something is done on tv or movies
rain shadow effect--description of why more rain falls on one side of a mountain than another.
What was the effect?--Final result

Affect is how something impacts or influences something else.

For example: How were you affected?
Even the term affection demonstrates this because someone has an affect over you that causes your affection for them.

I hope this helped, at least a little bit. Like I said, there is an exception to every rule, so sometimes it can be very hard to distinguish between the two.

Answer 4

affect is a verb and effect is a noun
To Affect something is to change or influence it.
To Effect something is a rather formal way of saying
'To Make It Happen'

example:The stability of the wall was affected by passing lorries.

The demolition of the wall was effected by the
Detonation of a change of dynamite.

Answer 5

Most people think "affect" is the verb and "effect" is the noun, but this is only half true, both can be used as either.

The storm affected the television reception. (verb)

The effect of the storm was poor television reception. (noun)

The prisoner effected an escape from jail. (verb)

He didn't really come from France, his accent was just an affect. (noun)

Answer 6

effect is like in a movie they have special effects like sounds and by camera affect is like when you do something good or bad it affects someones feelings

Answer 7

effect is noun and affect is a verb!!

Answer 8

Well done, B D!