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Affect vs. Effect
Express influence or outcome
Affect vs. Effect
| AFFECT — INFLUENCE (V) |
|---|
Affect expresses "have an influence" or "change" (sway, modify, alter, touch, stir). Affect is mostly a verb with alternate form affected (Adj), affectation (N), and marginally related affection (N). |
| VERB |
Seeing thin models affects (influences) young girls' self image. |
Being severely underweight badly affects (makes worse) health. |
Fashion images affect (sway) our desires. |
A young girl said, "Yes, it affects (touches¹) me too." |
I am affected (influenced) by the images I see on TV. (passive) |
The death of the young singer affected (touched¹) us all. |
| EFFECT — RESULT (N) |
|---|
Effect expresses a resulting state (result, outcome, issue, consequence). Effect is mostly a noun with alternate forms effective (Adj) and loosely related effectiveness (N). |
| NOUN |
The effect (outcome) on a young girl may be self-hate. An determiner (article) before the word is a clue that you need the noun—effect. |
One effect (consequence) of being underweight is hair loss. |
The effect (result) is that we spend money foolishly. |
A young girl said, "Yes, it has an effect (influence) on me too." |
The effect (impression) of the TV images is that people feel inadequate. |
The effect (impact) on us was profound sadness. |
¹touch emotionally
Affect / Effect
As Verbs
Affect vs. Effect Verbal Expressions
| AFFECT — VERB |
|---|
Affect is used as a verb— have an influence or cause change (sway, modify, alter, touch, stir). (As a noun, it is limited to use in psychology for feeling, emotion or response.) |
| AFFECT PEOPLE – SWAY OR INFLUENCE THEM |
Dove Soap included average-size models in their ads to positively affect the self-image of young women. |
You can affect the policy makers by boycotting their magazines. |
| AFFECT A PROCESS OR PROJECT – MODIFY OR INFLUENCE |
You can affect the policy by making your voice heard. |
A woman announced, "Yes, our boycott will affect magazine profits and force them to make changes." |
The judge's settlement affected the hiring of fashion show models. |
| EFFECT — VERBAL EXPRESSIONS |
|---|
Effect is less commonly used as a verb except in the expressions: 1) have an effect on; 2) effect change, a settlement, or a decision in legal language. |
| HAVE AN EFFECT ON (VP) |
Dove Soap included average-size models in their ads to have a positive effect on the self-image of women. |
Boycotts have an effect on company profits. (are able to influence) |
Loss of profits will have an effect on company managers. (will influence) |
The settlement had effect on models who are too thin. (was able to influence) |
| EFFECT CHANGE (VP) |
You can effect a change in policy by boycotting (not buying) their magazines. (bring about / actively work to change) |
A protester said to a news reporter, "Managers can effect change if they choose to do the right thing." (produce change) |
Dove Soap effected a change to include normal-size models in their ads. (planned and put in action) |
The judge effected a settlement between the too-thin runway model and the show directors who hired and fired her. (ruled on / arbitrated) |
boycott (V) – an organized plan to not buy from or deal with a company or country.
(VP) – verbal phrase
Affect
Additional Meanings
| VARIANT MEANING | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
| VERBS | |
CHANGE SOMETHING (V) |
Not having enough food affected her bone growth. |
INFLUENCE FEELINGS (V) |
The movie affected me so much that I can't stop thinking about it. The exhibition was designed to to affective. (having an influence on people's emotions) |
| OTHER MEANINGS | |
ATTACK WITH DISEASE (V) |
Influenza affects millions of people each year. |
BEHAVE IN A FAKE WAY; SIMULATE; PRETEND (V, Adj, N) |
Madonna affected a British accent in her interview, which was odd because she was born and raised in the US. (V) Their mannerisms were affected. (Adj) Their affectation of speech was easily noticed. (N) |
FONDNESS (N, Adj) |
Her affection for her family was great. (N) She was very affectionate with them. (N) (expressing affection or fondness) Formerly, "affect" was used and meant "to love or regard with fondness". We still use this older meaning in the words: "affection" and "affectionate". |
EXPRESSING EMOTION OR FEELING; EMOTIONAL |
After a gunshot injury to her brain, she had an affective disorder causing uncontrollable crying or laughing—PseudoBulbar Affect (PBA). (neurological disorder) The affective spectrum includes disorders such as bipolar, general anxiety, attention deficit, hyper-activity, panic, social anxiety, bulimia and post traumatic stress. (mood disorders) |
fake – unnatural; false; imitation
N –noun; V – verb; VP – verb phrase
Effect
Additional Meanings
Effect – Expressions
| VARIANT MEANING | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
| VERBS / VERB PHRASES | |
A RESULT (N) |
Satisfaction and dissatisfaction with body image is often a cultural effect. |
AN INTENT / ESSENCE (N) |
The effect of their plan was to remove harmful images from their daughters' magazines. (hope, goal, intent) |
| ADJ / N | |
PRODUCING AN INTENDED RESULT (Adj / N) |
They hope the law will be effective. (Adj) (capable of producing a desired result) The effectiveness of the new law will soon be known. (N) (capability, competency) |
| EXPRESSIONS | |
AN INFLUENCE (N) |
She was under the effect of diet pills that made her irritable. |
A VISUAL IMPRESSION (N) |
Air brushing and other special effects change the appearance of models on magazine covers. |
POWER TO INFLUENCE (N) |
Glamorous images have an effect on young girls. |
BECOME OPERATIVE (N) |
The law will go into effect at the first of the year. |
The new law will take effect immediately. (begin to produce results) |
|
PERSONAL EFFECTS (N) |
When she left, she took her personal effects with her. (belongings) |
TO THE EFFECT (N) |
She became thin to the effect she was too weak to walk and fainted often. ("to the point or extent that") |
IN EFFECT (N) |
They stopped hiring too-thin models which in effect meant the models would need to gain some weight to be hired. (as a result, in short, in essence, in truth) |
SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENON (N) |
A domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby and so on. The Doppler effect, a sound phenomenon, can be heard as a whistling train passes. |
N –noun; V – verb; VP – verb phrase
Wikipedia, "List of Effects", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_effects
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
*If General Motors fails, it will have a domino affect on the rest of the country. |
*I didn't like how the medicine effected me. |
*The medicine had some strange affects on me. |
*I was effected by what he said to me. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
If General Motors fails, it will have a domino effect on the rest of the country. domino effect = one unit brings down the next, and the next, etc. |
I didn't like how the medicine affected me. |
The medicine had some strange effects on me. |
I was affected by what he said to me. What he said had an effect on me. (made an impression of me) |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
Pop-Q "Affect-Effect"
Practice 1
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
The perception of beauty is subjective – each person has his/her own opinion.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
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Practice 2
"A dog that brings a bone will carry a bone."
Read for Errors
Gossip has several negative affects not only on the person being gossiped about but also on the gossiper. Gossip effects a person's reputation. It can have a damaging effect on the victim's personal relationships with others. In the same way, it can effect the gossiper's relationships because it raises doubts and mistrust. That is, a person capable of gossiping about someone else is also capable of gossiping about you.
Gossip humiliates a person to the affect that he or she may become depressed and unable to function well socially. This cruelty negatively affects the self-esteem of the gossiper as well. The gossiper knows that the more damage inflicted, the greater his/her own popularity will be. In effect, the person becomes reliant of this form of "entertainment". When it fails, and eventually it does, the gossiper becomes the subject of gossip.
cruelty (N) – the process of willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others
gossip (N) – information that is passed from one person to another about other people's behavior and private lives, often including unkind or untrue remarks
humiliate (V) – cause a person to feel loss of respect, pride, or dignity
reputation (N) – the opinion that people have about someone because of what has happened in the past
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