Comments on: Effect v affect

By: REG CROWDER

REG CROWDER — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:07:26 +0000

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.

By: sherrilynne

sherrilynne — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:02:11 +0000

We’re a great team of professional communicators, aren’t we my fellow commenters. Typos and spellies galore!

By: Leo Bottary

Leo Bottary — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:43:41 +0000

Consider the phrase again without my typo – we’re versus we ; – )

By: Leo Bottary

Leo Bottary — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:41:55 +0000

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!

By: Stu Peters

Stu Peters — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:42:29 +0000

Damn – now I’VE done it. This comment malarkey needs an ‘edit’ function!

By: Stu Peters

Stu Peters — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:40:55 +0000

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.

By: sherrilynne

sherrilynne — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:54:43 +0000

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

By: Stu Peters

Stu Peters — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:44:29 +0000

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…