Affect vs Effect?

Question

I have always had excellent grammar however I am always stuck on the use of (affect vs effect) and (to vs too). Any help?

Answer 1

You affect something only when you change or alter or influence it.

You effect something only when you bring something into being.

Examples:
The medication affected the patient's happiness.
The medication effected a sense of paranoia.

In the latter, the paranoia did not exist before until the medication was taken.

You rarely need to use "effect" as a verb. There are times when it's necessary, but they are not often. As a result, you can usually reserve "affect" for verb use and "effect" for noun use. There are usually better synonyms to use. If I had to use "effect" as a verb, I ask myself this: "Did the subject bring the object into being?" If the answer is no, then I should've used "affect."

Answer 2

AFFECT is the verb.
-- I don't want to affect the outcome of the election.
EFFECT is the noun.
-- I had an effect on the election.

They both have the same meaning, but it depends on how you're using it.


TO is a preposition
-- I'm going to the mall
-- Where to next?
-- It's to the left of the highway.

TOO is an adjective, meaning "also", as a description of excess
-- That's too much for me to handle.
-- Do you like toast, too?

"To" and "too" have different meanings.

Answer 3

Affect is the verb. Effect is the noun.

How will this affect me?
What special effects were in the movie?

Answer 4

When one factor has an "effect" on something else, "AFFECT" is the verb and "EFFECT" is the noun form: (1) She does not "AFFECT" me. [meaning: She does not "influence" me. VERB] (2) She has no "EFFECT" on me. [meaning: She does not have any "influence" on me. NOUN] "The electronics have averaging in hardware to reduce the [effects] of vibration." The right word should be "EFFECTS" since this is a NOUN. (it has the article "the" in front of it). * If you said 'The vibrations "AFFECT" the electronics.' "AFFECT" would be correct since this is a VERB. Note: The only time "effect" is used as a verb is when it is used to mean "enact" -- such as "the board effected a new policy." This is a more technical usage and not very common. Most people normally use "affect/effect" to mean having an "influence" on someone or something.

Answer 5

In their most common usage "affect" is the verb spelling and "effect" is the noun spelling. (There is a noun spelled "affect" but it is used primarily in psychology.) Here are some examples to help. "There are many effects of car accidents." In this sentence "effects" is a noun--a what. "The car accident affected me in many ways." In this sentence "affect" is a verb or action word.

If you are conjugating the verb (adding verb tense endings), you are using the verb spelling "affect."

Answer 6

The answers above are mostly right. However, "affect" can also be a noun. It is a synonym for "emotion." It is a technical term mostly used by psychology pros.

Answer 7

"affect" is to produce a change. "effect" is the result of a change. (The effect of HIV is AIDS. This disease affects people in a way that they lose their natural ability to fight infection.)

"to" is when you refer to something; "too" is when in two cases, they result in the same. (To be strong or to be weak; I am thinking about that, too.)

Answer 8

too is a word that means also

to is location

affect is "to influence"

effect is the result of something