Affect vs. Effect

[StarrLightSinali]

Does it bother anyone else when people use 'affect' and 'effect' incorrectly?

I'm on my school newspaper staff and I see way too much of it. It drives me crazy.

Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun. People don't know that. And then, when I'm editing their papers and correcting it, they don't make the appropriate changes and it gets published incorrectly.

*sigh*  

[DANCING carbombs]

YESH!! It drives me insane... -_-;; stressed -nods rapidly-  

[StarrLightSinali]

Thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I was beginning to think that I was slightly insane for twitching every time I saw that. biggrin  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Actually, they're both both verbs and nouns.  

[StarrLightSinali]

...How so?

*wishes to be enlightened*

I've always thought that you used effect when speaking of a thing, and affect when speaking of what it does to a thing. Hence the verb and noun difference.  

[The Man who was Thursday]

effect - v. - to produce as an effect; bring about; accomplish; make happen

affect - n. -

• Psychology. feeling or emotion.
  
• Psychiatry. an expressed or observed emotional response: Restricted, flat, or blunted affect may be a symptom of mental illness, especially schizophrenia.
  
• Obsolete. affection; passion; sensation; inclination; inward disposition or feeling.

 

[Angelic_Hobo]

He's right but you've got to use the right word to make the sentence work correctly.

E.g. The effect caused him to turn mental.

This cannot be: the affect cased him to turn mental.  

[Marcus McFlufferson]

I always took it as Affect was to affect something. Hit something with a hammer, you affect with force?

Effect is the appearence of something?

*Wishes someone could clearly explain this to him*  

[DarkElf27]

Affect is the cause, effect is the result. 3nodding

On a side note, yay for school newspaper people! mrgreen  

[saotomi5102]

Effect: noun, Latin to Greek to French: the result of an action

Affect: verb, Latin to French to English: to alter something for better or for worse.

- Webster's Merriam Dictionary 1952  

[Marcus McFlufferson]

DarkElf27

Affect is the cause, effect is the result. 3nodding

On a side note, yay for school newspaper people! mrgreen

That still doesn't make any sense gonk

saotomi5102

Effect: noun, Latin to Greek to French: the result of an action

Affect: verb, Latin to French to English: to alter something for better or for worse.

- Webster's Merriam Dictionary 1952

Or that gonk gonk

I think my brain refuses to react to the way of this particular grammar law..

Could someone put it into some dumbed down sentances for me?  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Marcus McFlufferson

I always took it as Affect was to affect something. Hit something with a hammer, you affect with force?

Effect is the appearence of something?

*Wishes someone could clearly explain this to him*

In addition to the definitions I gave above, the more common ones can be gleaned from context:

If something is affected, there is an effect.  

[Marcus McFlufferson]

Okay okay. Right. Imagine I'm a retard.

Go!  

[Amphion]

affect: v. (af-FECT)- to alter something already in existance: Heat affects the speed of most chemical reactions.
n. (AF-fect)- psychology external display of emotion or mood: He was completely devoid of affect.

effect: v. (ef-FECT)- to bring something into existance: Heat can effect a change in the speed of most chemical reactions.
n. (ef-FECT)- the result of an action: The effects of Hurricane Katrina are still with us today.

Does anyone know which one is the word for small personal belongings? I think it's effect (pronounced EF-fect), but I'm not sure.  

[Demokritos]

This is probably the least thought of word that is mistaken in meaning. Their meanings are completely different, but the difference in the words themselves is negligible.