Affect/Effect?

GlenBarrington · 03-16-2020, 09:24 AM

What are the rules? Grammarly is making me question my sanity on this issue.

theducks · 03-16-2020, 10:12 AM

affect causes an effect (My ancient Websters 7th)

pdurrant · 03-16-2020, 11:11 AM

What theducks said. In effect.

GlenBarrington · 03-16-2020, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

affect causes an effect (My ancient Websters 7th)

Oh! Thank God! I was about to loose my mind!

Dr. Drib · 03-16-2020, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

What are the rules? Grammarly is making me question my sanity on this issue.

I'm afraid the effect of the arcane rules of grammar is affecting your sanity!

Bilbo1967 · 03-16-2020, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Oh! Thank God! I was about to loose my mind!

Please tell that use of "loose" was irony.

hobnail · 03-16-2020, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I'm afraid the effect impact of the arcane rules of grammar is affecting impacting your sanity!

Don't bother trying to figure it out; just use impact like everyone else does.

Catlady · 03-17-2020, 05:04 PM

From Merriam-Webster's 11th:

Quote:

Effect and affect are often confused because of their similar spelling and pronunciation. The verb affect usually has to do with pretense *she affected a cheery disposition despite feeling down*. The more common affect denotes having an effect or influence *the weather affected everyone's mood*. The verb effect goes beyond mere influence; it refers to actual achievement of a final result *the new administration hopes to effect a peace settlement*. The uncommon noun affect, which has a meaning relating to psychology, is also sometimes mistakenly used for the very common effect. In ordinary use, the noun you will want is effect *waiting for the new law to take effect* *the weather had an effect on everyone's mood*.

What is Grammarly saying that has you confused?

crich70 · 03-18-2020, 12:31 AM

To affect is to make a difference.
Effect = a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.
So if you are doing something that changes something in some way you have an affect. If something in your life has been changed then whatever caused that change has had an effect.

So if I give you $50.00 when you need that sum to get a tire fixed I've had an affect on your being able to get the repair work done. On the other hand if you run over a nail in the road and suffer a flat tire then that nail has had an effect on your ability to get where you are going at the time.

rhadin · 03-19-2020, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

So if I give you $50.00 when you need that sum to get a tire fixed I've had an affect on your being able to get the repair work done.

Sorry, but no. "Affect" (which I bolded in the quote) should be "effect" as used in the sentence as written. For "affect" to be correct, the sentence should be something like:

"When I gave you $50, I affected your ability to . . ."

or

"Giving you $50 affected your ability to . . ."

or

"By giving you $50, I affected your ability to . . ."

For "affect" to work, you need something like:

"To affect your ability to . . ., I need to give you $50."

gmw · 03-19-2020, 02:01 AM

Somewhere or other I came across the following advice that I found helpful:

First work out whether you are using a noun or a verb.

Noun: You almost always want an effect. (The noun "affect" is a technical term in psychology etc.)

Verb: You most often want to be affected (acted on, influenced) by something, or you might affect (pretend) understanding. The verb "effect" means to accomplish or make happen and often sounds formal (like an affectation): he effected the repairs quickly. You might imagine Jean-Luc Picard replacing "Make it so!" with "Effect It!".

Or in snappier, albeit tautological, terms: he was affected by the effect.

Tex2002ans · 03-23-2020, 10:03 PM

This one makes me scratch my head often too...

So I typically refresh my memory with these videos:

"English Grammar Basics: Affect vs Effect" by Socratica
"Affect and effect | Frequently confused words | Usage | Grammar" by Khan Academy
"EFFECT or AFFECT? 🤔 English Mistakes that Native Speakers Make too!!" by mmmEnglish

Usually, it's also helpful to look up ESL (English as a Second Language). The videos typically explain things in an easier way.

03-16-2020, 09:24 AM	#1
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	Affect/Effect? What are the rules? Grammarly is making me question my sanity on this issue.

03-18-2020, 12:31 AM	#9
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	To affect is to make a difference. Effect = a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause. So if you are doing something that changes something in some way you have an affect. If something in your life has been changed then whatever caused that change has had an effect. So if I give you $50.00 when you need that sum to get a tire fixed I've had an affect on your being able to get the repair work done. On the other hand if you run over a nail in the road and suffer a flat tire then that nail has had an effect on your ability to get where you are going at the time. Last edited by crich70; 03-18-2020 at 12:33 AM.

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03-16-2020, 10:12 AM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,779 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	affect causes an effect (My ancient Websters 7th)

03-16-2020, 11:11 AM	#3
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,495 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	What theducks said. In effect.

03-19-2020, 02:01 AM	#11
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Somewhere or other I came across the following advice that I found helpful: First work out whether you are using a noun or a verb. Noun: You almost always want an effect. (The noun "affect" is a technical term in psychology etc.) Verb: You most often want to be affected (acted on, influenced) by something, or you might affect (pretend) understanding. The verb "effect" means to accomplish or make happen and often sounds formal (like an affectation): he effected the repairs quickly. You might imagine Jean-Luc Picard replacing "Make it so!" with "Effect It!". Or in snappier, albeit tautological, terms: he was affected by the effect.

03-23-2020, 10:03 PM	#12
Tex2002ans Wizard Posts: 2,297 Karma: 12126329 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kobo Forma, Nook	This one makes me scratch my head often too... So I typically refresh my memory with these videos: "English Grammar Basics: Affect vs Effect" by Socratica "Affect and effect \| Frequently confused words \| Usage \| Grammar" by Khan Academy "EFFECT or AFFECT? 🤔 English Mistakes that Native Speakers Make too!!" by mmmEnglish Usually, it's also helpful to look up ESL (English as a Second Language). The videos typically explain things in an easier way.