Affect vs. Effect: Differences & Exceptions

Breaking Down the Difference Between Affect & Effect

Spelling, part of speech, and, of course, meaning—there are plenty of differences between the words affect and effect. These two homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently) have been known to trip up many turns of phrase. Let’s look at the differences between the two.

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All About Affect

Typically used as a verb, affect—with an A—means to cause a change to something:

• The full moon affected the lycanthropes.
• Too much bacon can affect your cholesterol levels.
• Rainy weather affects my vertigo.

Sometimes it may mean to pretend something:

• He affected the behavior of a werewolf but didn’t sprout hair or fangs.
• Affecting a vegan lifestyle won’t hide the truth shown in blood test results.
• I affected a limp because I was embarrassed to move slowly because of my vertigo.

All About Effect

This noun can indicate the result of a change—or the thing that causes the change:

• The effect of the full moon caused a powerful howl.
• When the medication takes effect, your cholesterol levels should lower.
• When my vertigo flares up, the spinning effect makes me nauseated.

As a plural noun, effect can also be used to refer to items—as in one’s personal effects.

How to Memorize the Difference Between Affect & Effect

It can be helpful to remember that affects cause effects. Or, that A comes before E. Or that the concept of cause-and-effect lays bare the approach to using these terms. Whatever trick you use, if you keep in mind that affect is the verb and effect is the noun, you should be well on your way to keeping the two straight. Unless, of course, you run into an exception.

Exceptions to the Affect vs. Effect Rules

What would rules be without exceptions, hm? Here’s where the cause-and-effect approach to remembering how to use affect and effect doesn’t apply:

• Affect as a noun. This is an emotion or an emotional response: His stoic affect disappears when he becomes a creature of the night.
• Effect as a verb. This is where cause-and-effect can get you into trouble because effect as a verb is when something is caused to happen, or something has been accomplished: A change in diet effected positive results.

Confused yet? Don’t worry. Thankfully, most anywhere you do your digital drafting features built-in grammar help, like Microsoft Editor. When in doubt, double check your usage.