In everyday writing, use affect as a verb meaning influence and effect as a noun meaning result. Roadwork can affect bus service. Longer waits are one effect of roadwork.
Affect as a verb and effect as a noun
In each pair, the verb tells what something does. The noun names what happens as a result.
- Opening a second register affected the bakery’s morning rush.
One effect was a shorter line at the counter. - Closing the curtains affects the room’s temperature.
One effect of closing the curtains is a cooler room by midafternoon.
Two ways to test your word choice
- Try a substitute. If influence fits, use affect. If result fits, use effect. Adjust the form if needed. Affected the rush becomes influenced the rush, and one effect of the change becomes one result of the change.
- Look at the words around it. A helping verb such as can or will signals a verb in a phrase like can affect traffic. A word such as an or the can introduce a noun phrase like an unexpected effect.
The words around the blank help you identify its job. Check the intended meaning, too. Both spellings can serve as verbs, and both can serve as nouns. The substitute test covers the two everyday meanings.
Less common meanings
Effect can mean bring about
The council’s vote effected a change in library hours. The vote put new hours in place. If the vote affected the proposed changes, it influenced what the new hours would be. The American Heritage Dictionary entry for effect.
Affect can name a display of emotion
In fields such as psychology, affect can refer to how emotion shows in someone’s facial expressions, gestures, or voice. In The researcher noted the speaker’s subdued affect, the researcher describes the speaker’s outward expression. In this use, the stress falls on the first syllable, AF-fect. The American Heritage Dictionary entry for affect.
Affect can also mean put on
The actor affected an exaggerated drawl for the role. Here, affected means the actor deliberately put on a way of speaking. Merriam-Webster’s usage guide.
Practice choosing affect or effect
- Fill in the blank. The later pickup time might ___ how many orders we get.
- Correct the spelling. The detour had an unexpected affect on foot traffic.
- Rewrite this sentence using effect. The late frost affected the peach harvest.
- Choose the spelling that says the board planned to put a change in place. The board voted to ___ a change in the club’s bylaws.
- Identify the part of speech and meaning of affect. The researcher noticed a cheerful affect as the speaker began to tell the story.
- Explain what affected means here. During rehearsal, the actor affected surprise when she opened the letter.
Show answers and explanations
- Affect. The verb after might means the time could influence the number of orders.
- The detour had an unexpected effect on foot traffic. The phrase an unexpected effect names a result of the detour.
- The late frost had an effect on the peach harvest. The original uses a verb to express the frost’s influence. The rewrite uses a noun to refer to the result of that influence.
- Effect. The verb means the board voted to bring about the change.
- Noun. It refers to the speaker’s outward expression of cheerfulness, which could show in a smile or a bright tone of voice.
- Put on or pretended to feel. The actor displayed surprise as part of the performance.
Related writing guides
- Find the spelling and meaning of other easily confused pairs. Confusing Words.
- Work through common sentence and word-choice errors. Common Grammar Mistakes.
- Build a final review into your writing process. The Art of Proofreading.
