Effect v affect
After a lifetime of being a stickler about getting it right, and a haranguing harridan when people have the temerity to get it wrong – for example. to mix up their ‘theirs’ with their ‘theres’ and, what is worse, to get apostrophes wrong (someone emailed me its’ today – twice in one press release – what’s all that about?!) I have to concede defeat regarding ‘affect’ and ‘effect’.
Having spent a good hour reading about the differences between the two in an attempt to finally pin it down, I still don’t really get it.
I understand that ‘affect’ is to pretend and that’s about it. But as far as I can tell, they both mean to influence, to act upon, to bring about.
Take this sentence, and this is correct: ‘TV has a strong effect on public opinion, my mood can affect my thinking too.’ I just can’t see the difference!
It doesn’t help that the description of what ‘affect’ means includes the word ‘effect’. Affect: ‘To influence or effect on’.
I feel slightly better knowing that confusing the two goes back to at least 1484, according to one website. I also felt slightly better knowing that I’m not the poor schmuck whose job, nay life, it is to establish such facts. At least I have only lost one hour so far to this quest!
If anyone has any fail safe tips to iron out this wrinkle, please help. Failing that, my solution is to use other words – influence is a good one – and see if that has any affect/effect.
Filed under: writing
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You’re not alone – my favourite newsreader gets it wrong in every story he writes. The effect on me is that I have to sub it before putting it on the website – but that doesn’t affect my respect for him (affection would be putting it too strongly – we are men after all).
At least he gets harridan write…
I still have to look this up every time I use one of those two words, but try to write around them whenever I can. Well spotted on Mel’s spellie. Now fixed
Nah, the spellie is still wrong. Assuming Mel meant ‘harridan’ (Wiktionary: 1. A virago, shrew or a vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one
2. A vicious female, known for her evil tendencies towards male co-workers.).
I don’t know about affect and effect as I don’t have the grammatical vocabulary to explain the difference (my scholing ended at 16). One is cause (you affect something) and the other is the result (the effect OF or ON something)
Funny – my first job at 16 (after being sacked from school for being a dunce) included being a proof reader, and even now I can usually spot a literal or a typo, or bad punctuation at a thousand paces. But I still have trouble with apostrophes at times though – usually trailing ones. And separate gets me every time.
Damn – now I’VE done it. This comment malarkey needs an ‘edit’ function!
Here’s a guideline I found a long time ago that works best – at least for me. Effect is always a noun. Affect is always a verb. The exception to this rule is when the verb can be replaced by the word “accomplish”, such as in the phrase, we trying to “effect ” change.
Hope that’s helpful!
Consider the phrase again without my typo – we’re versus we ; – )
We’re a great team of professional communicators, aren’t we my fellow commenters. Typos and spellies galore!
I THINK I’ve been getting this “affect” versus “effect” thing correct for a while. But it IS a rather slippery matter, given the sort of philosophical and spiritual kinship between the two words. I agree it is the better part of valor (do the Brits still spell it “valour?”) to select different words.
And as for “principle” versus “principal,” don’t even get me started.
By the way, your photo in the Twitter Box is much foxier (that’s how I prefer to imagine you) than the one the Isle of Man newspaper insists upon running with your column. Could you talk them into using the your Twitter Box picture?
But then, perhaps it would be dangerous for the men on the Isle of Man to know that a PR expert with advanced IT skills is also a foxy lady.