Here are two more headlines from BBC using the word “affect.” The first one:

See how “affect” is implying action (therefore it’s a verb)? Most times affect is a verb, while effect is a noun.Įxample of “affect”: The most affected area from the tornado was provided help.

Here’s a general guideline when you’re confused whether a sentence calls for using effect or affect: Here’s a rule of thumb that will help you out most times. It is still easy to get confused and make a silly mistake by using the wrong word in a sentence. Knowing the meaning of these two nouns/verbs helps, but it isn’t enough. Not surprisingly, both of these words share similar sounding linguistic ancestors.Īffect comes from the Latin verb afficere meaning “to do something to, to have an influence on.” Effect, on the other hand, is derived from the Latin verb efficere, meaning, “to make, carry out.”Īffect - “to do something to, to have an influence on.” Recommended reading: How To Use: Your vs You’re Table of Contents Roots Of The Words Affect And Effect How about we explore how the confusion arises in the first place? In this article, you’ll learn how to use the correct version of these words every single time. Well, the affect vs effect confusion tricks many writers and business professionals. Is “ effect” the correct word to use in the above sentence or not? Does the difference between homophones affect your flow of thought?

I do have that effect or affect