A regular reader of my blog, Bananaz, asked me to blog about the difference between “affect” and “effect“. I’ve heard politicians pronounce the words wrongly; they’re not interchangeable.
- affect (v.) – to influence or cause something to change
- effect (n.)* – the result of a particular action or event
Examples:
(a) affect
- The flu has affected my concentration at work.
- Your annual performance affects your salary.
- People are not bothered that open burning affects the ozone layer.
- Heavy showers last night affected visibility on the highway.
(b) effect
- The medicine I took had no effect on me. I’m still sick.
- Despite knowing the effects of smoking, people still smoke.
- The government’s campaign to curb crime has not much effect.
- What are the effects of petrol price hike?
* NOTE: “Effect” could also be a verb, but that’s not the focus in this post.