Could someone give me a good definiton of each word and some examples? (effect vs affect)
All examples are welcome. I need all the help I can get! ******************************************************* 11-14-03, 12:30 PM coldfuse What effect are you looking for, clare? Do you want to effect change in your grammar skills? Are you hoping the answers will affect you? Maybe they will have a positive effect! At the end of this thread, you might issue a statement to the effect that your affections for the community were affected effectively.
Thanks for the opportunity to clear this up for you. ******************************************************* 11-14-03, 12:32 PM Sherasi Effect: to cause to come into being, to influence
Affect: the dictionary is not very clear here, but in nursing, we see how a person is doing by their appearance... "flat affect" means that person is devoid of emotion... neutral face, neutral or dull voice tones, not very animated. So affect refers to the WAY a person presents themselves, it is more of an emotional thing. ******************************************************* 11-14-03, 01:19 PM Georgia85 Rule 1. Use effect when you mean bring about or brought about, cause or caused.
Example He effected a commotion in the crowd.
Rule 2. Use effect when you mean result.
Example What effect did that speech have?
Rule 3. Also use effect whenever any of these words precede it: a, an, the, no, any, take, into.
NOTE: These words may be separated from effect by an adjective.
Examples That book had a long-lasting effect on my thinking. Has the medicine produced any noticeable effects?
Rule 4. If none of the above fit, use affect.
From: The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation ******************************************************* 11-14-03, 01:35 PM FredPuli 'To affect' is used to mean "to appear; to seem" though it seems to have taken on an overtone of falsity nowadays. So 'he affects to look pleased' means more than just 'appears to' it carries the hint that he was pretending or putting a face on and that his pleasure was not heartfelt. Here we may say 'Do affect to look interested'to our bored offspring at dull social events, too. It sounds better and is less obvious to bystanders than 'Do pretend !" Smile
Evidently it can serve as a noun; thought it's use as one appears to be confined to physicians psychologists (and nurses, of course Big Grin) ******************************************************* 11-14-03, 05:26 PM clarebear Hmmm... I still can't get it. Roll Eyes
How about some sentences?
This thread is really effecting me. Are the answers really affecting me as Coldfuse says? I'm such a dork it is effecting my self esteem. Cause and effect hmmmm.. Confused
Is this right?
My statement affected the outcome of the decision.
hmmmm Confused LOL
Razz ******************************************************* 11-14-03, 11:22 PM Sherasi Because it rained so hard last night, the dew point was EFFECTED and the humidity was higher.
The patients AFFECT was cheerful, making it clear she expected to kick the cancer. ******************************************************* 11-15-03, 01:41 AM jusork Sherasi, I'm pretty sure you got that backwards.
Affect is the action. The light affects your skin. Effect is the result. The light has an effect on skin. So if you affect something, it causes an effect. ******************************************************* 11-15-03, 06:24 PM Sherasi I know I am not not wrong.. I use these terms everyday in nursing. ******************************************************* 11-15-03, 07:21 PM FredPuli Sherasi, I suspect the comment was aimed at 'the dew point was effected' not the medical 'affect'. 'Effect' means to carry out to an end; to finish; to cause to be. 'Affect' means to make a difference in the condition or appearance of something. So turning on the heaters effects a change of temperature; it carries it out, completes it. However the people in the room are not effected by the change of temperature; they are not 'finished' or 'completed'by it; but they are affected by it,their condition is changed as they get hotter and more (or less) comfortable.The temperature is affected too; it changes; but you can't complete or finish , effect, temperature.
So 'the dew point was effected' seemed odd to me ( perhaps I'm eccentric) because I can't see how you complete or carry out or finish a dewpoint, though I can see how it was changed, affected.
"Mr Bush has effected a change " said one " Yes" said another " the men's stay is affected. When the orders are effected they will be sent home. It will not affect the situation until 2004 though so their families are not affected yet. The whole plan should be effected smoothly."
The use of affect in medicine seems connected with to affect when it means 'appear', 'seem'. 'give the appearance of being'. In medicine it seems to mean 'appearance','how someone looks or presents' When we tell a child to 'affect interest', out of politeness, when he is bored with granny's stories, we mean 'give the appearance of being interested'.It has of course come to be a euphemism for 'pretend' or 'feign', as said above. ******************************************************* 11-15-03, 07:34 PM Sherasi Ok, I understand... I made a bad sentence... but I do know what they mean... Big Grin Roll Eyes Eek ******************************************************* 11-15-03, 11:53 PM jusork Yeah I was thinking it should be "the dew point was affected" because it made a change and "the patients effect was cheerful" because cheerful is the effect. So was my post not right?
I think the easiest way to remember is that effect is the noun and affect is the verb. Is that a good way? ******************************************************* 11-16-03, 05:20 AM FredPuli Usually so jusork. The only time when 'affect' is a noun seems to be in medicine, as Sherasi uses it; the affect of a patient.Otherwise affect is used as a verb.
[Note: if you double click on effect in this text and go to Merriam -Webster's Dictionary; then click on to effect2, the verb, there is a footnote explaining the difference ]
Effect is certainly more often found as a noun than as a verb. Few of us talk of 'effecting' something. It is really part of the vocabulary of lawyers, politicians, the military , the pompous and the pretentious Smile ! Most people do not 'effect a change in temperature'. They just 'change' it or 'bring about' or cause' a change. Elsewhere too we use other more familiar words or phrases instead .
[This message was edited by FredPuli on 11-16-03 at 05:28 AM.]
[This message was edited by FredPuli on 11-16-03 at 05:41 AM.] ******************************************************* 11-16-03, 10:26 AM clarebear Ok.. let me try this.
When I put on makeup it effects my appearance. It affects the look of my skin.
The music causes a soothing affect which effects my mood.
Is this right?
How about some more examples?? Big Grin
Thanks! Smile ******************************************************* 11-16-03, 11:42 AM methos When I put on makeup it affects my appearance. It affects the look of my skin.
The music causes a soothing effect which affects my mood.
In common usage, you want affect for the verb and effect for the noun. Jusork is right that it is usually that simple. Either can be a noun and either can be a verb, but the noun form of affect is rare outside of psychology and the verb form of effect is rare outside of 'legalese.' The dictionary link will lead you to definitions of and a few examples for those rare cases.
[This message was edited by methos5000 on 11-16-03 at 12:06 PM.] ******************************************************* 11-16-03, 12:02 PM FredPuli "The government employees affected government policy" This means that they caused some change in it; that the government were influenced by them in making policy or altered its policy in some way. "The government's employees effected government policy" means that they carried it out. They brought it into effect.
With make-up? "The beautician effected a make-over". She carried it out and finished it. " The beautician affected a makeover" It was going on but she intervened and changed it in some way; perhaps she said to her assistant to use different mascara.
As to effecting an appearance. Yes, you can, in one sense. When a film star appears at the entrance to the Oscars ceremony she effects an appearance before the fans because she carries out and finishes it.( She might affect her appearance there by being drunk and getting more slurred during it; this would certainly affect it and her career too !)
You can't really effect your appearance,how you look, with makeup, the lipgloss and the rest; only change it from what it is, affect it . Your appearance is what you have already; it can only be altered, affected.What you mean is that you have an existing appearance, how you look now and you are changing it. If you like it has already been effected, created, by the Almighty !
Confusingly perhaps,you could effect a complete 'look' be it Marilyn 50s retro or 70s punk or whatever though; you can create the finished 'look'; the result affected by the qualities of the stuff used and the skill of the artist in applying it . There you are creating something new according to a formula to make 'the look'.We think of this as independent. You affect your appearance by effecting the whole 70s look
[This message was edited by FredPuli on 11-16-03 at 12:14 PM.] ******************************************************* 11-17-03, 12:32 AM newnickname If I created a hologram, capable of speech, and sent it to the drunken brawl my in-laws call their Christmas party, instead of going myself - would I effect my appearance there? ******************************************************* 11-17-03, 10:08 AM aminator2002 What were the effects of the fire?
What areas did the fire affect?
Is there really a tangible effect of not knowing the difference between affect and effect?
Or does it just affect you psychologically?
I almost always just use "affect" unless it is a result that I am describing... an effect.
Do yourself a favor and don't make this more difficult than it needs to be. It could have damaging effects on your brain to think too hard about it. ******************************************************* 12-13-03, 09:48 PM Tree clarebear,
