How to Use "Affect" and "Effect"

Affect is a verb almost always used to mean "to act on (someone or something) and cause a change." Effect is almost always used as a noun to mean "a change that results when something is done or happens." In other words, when you affect something, you cause an effect. The following example sentences show these uses:

• The weather affected our travel plans. = The weather had an effect on our travel plans. [=the weather caused us to change our plans]
• Pollution in the air affects our health. = Pollution has negative health effects.
• Your weight is affected by your diet. = Your diet has an effect on your weight.
• The new teacher has a positive effect on the children. = The teacher affects the children in a positive way.
• One side effect of the new medicine is sleepiness. = The medicine affects your ability to stay awake.
• Staying up late has no effect on my ability to wake up early. = Staying up late does not affect my ability to wake up early.

Sometimes, especially in formal writing, effect is used as a verb to mean "to cause something to happen". The following example sentences show this use:

• The manager had the power to effect change within the company.
• The directors hoped to effect a smooth transition by working together during the merger.
• The people urged the government to effect reform.

Sometimes, especially in formal contexts, affect is used to mean "to pretend that a false behavior or feeling is natural or genuine." The following example sentences show this use:

• He always affects a look of surprise [=pretends to be surprised] when the children draw him pictures.
• She affected concern for her neighbors. [=she pretended to be concerned]
• They affected Italian accents [=they spoke with fake Italian accents] for their parents when they came home from their trip.

I hope this helps. For more posts about words, idioms, grammar, and usage, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Don't forget to subscribe to our Word of the Day e-mails!

Click here to try one of our vocabulary quizzes before you go!