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Affect and effect are two of the most commonly confused words in English, but don’t worry—we’ll help you keep them straight. The basic difference is this: affect is usually a verb, and effect is usually a noun.
When you effect something, you cause something to exist that didn't exist before: first it was in the darkness of nothingness, then it comes "out" into the world of reality. Notice the parallel to ex- in exist. Affect comes from Latin afficere, from ad-, "to, in addition", and facere.
Affect and effect are easy to mix up. Here, we’ll explain where the confusion comes from and lay out all the various scenarios… In most cases, “affect” is used as a verb and “effect” is used as a noun.
Is there an easy way to remember whether you want affect or effect? Senior Editor Emily Brewster explains a simple trick that will work most of the time. For more read "Affect and Effect Picking the Right One" Transcript. Do affect with an A and effect with an E give you a hard time? Well, we're here to help with a rule that covers most uses.
How to remember the difference between affect and effect. You can remember that affect is most commonly used as a verb because it begins with a, for action. There’s another trick to help you use the right word in almost every case: the word RAVEN. R = Remember.
Affect is a verb, or an action, that means “to impact or cause change.” On the other hand, effect is a noun that refers to a result or outcome. For example, “The news affected her mood” or “Studying had a positive effect on his grades.” Even if you’re a card-carrying member of the grammar police, the words affect and effect are easily confused.
A simple way to remember the difference between effect and affect: Effect is the result, like the answer to “What happened?” Affect is the action, describing how something changes or influences something else.