| These two words, with such different meanings, | | | | winking affect her opinion of me? |
| are frequently interchanged in writing. The | | | | 2. When she smiles at me, my whole day is |
| problem is that they sound so similar, which | | | | affected. It's a strange effect. |
| causes many writers to use the wrong one. A | | | | 2. Less common uses |
| little basic knowledge of English grammar will help | | | | ""Effect" is sometimes used as a verb, though we |
| you know which one to use--and why. | | | | don't like this use. It is too "new-speaky" for us, |
| 1. Common uses | | | | like using "dialogue" as a verb, which it isn't. When |
| "Effect" is most commonly used as a noun and | | | | "effect" is being used as a verb, it refers to the |
| refers to something that happens because of | | | | action of causing something to occur. An example |
| some action or event. A good synonym is "result." | | | | of this is: "My wink effected a change in her |
| For example, pretend that you are watching a | | | | attitude about me." |
| fireworks display, and one rocket makes a really | | | | "Affect" can be correctly used as a noun. As a |
| big boom. The person next to you, deafened by | | | | noun, this refers to emotions or an emotional |
| the blast, turns to you and shouts, "That was a | | | | response. You will find many examples of this in |
| really great effect." That person is referring to | | | | psychology documents. An example is: "Her affect |
| the blast that occurred when the rocket | | | | was strange when I winked at her." |
| exploded, i.e., the result of the explosion. | | | | 3. Quick Summary |
| "Affect" is most commonly used as a verb and | | | | Effect: Noun, means result |
| refers to the action of influencing something else. | | | | Affect: Verb, means influence; Noun, means |
| In fact, "influence" (the verb) is a good synonym. | | | | emotional response |
| For example, when the person just mentioned | | | | Since so many writers mistake these two words, |
| has finished shouting about the effect, you might | | | | editors at Precise Edit usually do a search for |
| respond, "Yeah, it must have affected your | | | | them when editing. We examine each occurrence |
| hearing." | | | | and make sure the correct word is being used. |
| Here are a few more samples: | | | | Correct word choice, after all, is a sign of being a |
| 1. What will be the effect of winking at her? Will | | | | professional writer. |