Monday, 11 April 2022

Effect or affect

Is it effect or affect? This has become one of the most frequent questions in the world of daily grammar. But it's actually remarkably simple.

Affect is usually a verb, and it means to impact or change, eg His words affected me deeply. Smoking will affect your help. It can also mean to adopt a manner, eg He affected a look of horror. 

As a noun, it almost always will be effect, such as in "The effect of strobe lighting on the eyes." or "He picked up his personal effects."

Effect is usually a noun, and is the result of a change, eg The new law has far-reaching effects.

When it is a verb, effect means to accomplish, eg The burglar effected an escape.


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