Define Effect vs. Affect: Grammar Guide

gary 8 days ago

you look "georgous"

Kyle 4 weeks ago

"I will affect human thought eternally, effecting life forever."

I will take verbosity over confusing the masses any day.

Cause and effect teaching MUST be replaced with reason.

Karl 7 months ago

This was very helpful. I've mixed these two words up so many times over the years. Now I might just be able to remember which is which. Thanks :)

Nicolas Connault 2 years ago

@Suzanne, the answer is "affect". You would only use "effect" if it meant "bring about". In your sentence, "bring about" doesn't make sense:

"Technology & performance will directly bring about your facility operations".

However, the following sentence can be ambiguous:

"A rise in consumer satisfaction will directly [affect|effect] the increase in sale prices".

The question here is one of causation vs influence. "Affect" means influence, while "effect" means causation.

Nicolas Connault 2 years ago

Here's an ambiguous case:

"The [affect|effect] I saw on his face was astounding!"

Suzanne 2 years ago

Hello,

In the following sentence, would affect or effect be correct "Technology & performance will directly xffect your facility operations". I am in a bit of a grammar war with a co-worker, and I really need an independent party to solve this for us!

TIA!

Donna Dove 3 years ago

Data is BOTH singular AND plural.

wannabwestern 4 years ago

This is my number one usage peeve. I don't know why! It just seems so ill-informed to misuse these ones! I like the useful information in your hubs. Thanks.

Anjuli 4 years ago

What ___(affect/effect)does the administration have on our economy.

KJG 4 years ago

Some resource/reference books acknowledge the use of data as both a singular and a plural noun using either a singular or plural verb. Data is technically plural and datum technically is singular.

Just a note........

jacksonBusiness 4 years ago

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Robin 5 years ago

Thanks, Mark. I appreciate the feedback. ;)

Mark Rollins 5 years ago

I had a student as me this question the other day. I wish my answer would have been as good as yours.

Robin 5 years ago

Yikes, Kristy. You caught a typo mistake, thanks!!! Here's another way of stating from the Lynch Guide to Grammar:

Affect with an a is usually a verb; effect with an e is (usually) a noun. When you affect something, you have an effect on it. The usual adjective is effective, which means "having the right effect," or "getting the job done" — an effective medicine, for instance. (It can also mean "in effect," as in "the new policy is effective immediately.")

If the usuals leave you curious, here's the rest of the story: affective as an adjective means "relating to or arousing an emotional reaction"; effect as a verb means "to bring about" or "to accomplish," as in "to effect a change." There's also the noun affect, usually used in psychology, meaning "an emotion" or "feeling.

Kristy 5 years ago

This would be very helpful except that it contradicts itself. Affect can be a noun. Affect is never a noun. Which is it?

First by saying, "Use affect when you mean: TO INFLUENCE SOMETHING RATHER THAN CAUSE or AS A NOUN TO EXPRESS EMOTION"

Then by saying, "Note: Affect is never a noun and is usually a verb; effect can be either a noun or verb."

So...can affect be a noun or not?

EGetts 5 years ago

So in the sentence "Inflation has an effect on the buying power of the dollar?" (a rewording of the example sentence given under the affect definitions above) I should use effect (since it is a noun), even though in this case it means "influence" which is a closer in meaning to affect as a verb? But since the noun form of affect doesn't mean influence, then effect is the correct word in this sentence.

Ralph Deeds 5 years ago

A very common mistake. I see it occasionally even in the NY Times.

Robin 5 years ago

Hi, Nicole. I wrote a hub on raise vs. rise. Here's the url: http://hubpages.com/hub/Grammar_Mishaps__Raise_vs_

Thanks for the idea! ;)

Nicole 5 years ago

Great page! How about a similar one on usage of raise vs. rise? My students have trouble with that one too...

Robin 5 years ago

I hear it all of the time too; but yesterday I heard someone on KPFA, a local listener sponsored radio station, use it correctly, he said, "The data are in our favor." The singular form of data is datum, which we hardly ever hear. Thanks, Ralph!

Ralph Deeds 5 years ago

How about the growing use of singular verbs with the plural "data?" I was taught to say, e.g., the data are clear. But more often than not I read and hear the data IS clear. Now, use of plural verbs with "data" almost sounds stilted. ????

Robin 5 years ago

You are always such a great cheerleader, Wajay! Thanks so much! ;)