affect vs. effect

Lots of people seem to confuse the words affect and effect, probably because they sound very similar, if not entirely the same out of some mouths. One's a verb, they'll recall, and one's a noun, but which is which? And eventually people mostly figure it out: effect is the noun, and affect is the verb. Remember, Affect Verb, Effect Noun: RAVEN.

But actually, both words can be either a noun or a verb! Taken from the dictionary of the almighty Google on 12 March 2016 (affect and effect):

---

affect¹ /ə'fɛkt/ (verb) have an effect on; make a difference to. "the dampness began to affect my health"

affect² /ə'fɛkt/ (verb) 1. pretend to have or feel (something). "as usual I affected a supreme unconcern" 2. use, wear, or assume (something) pretentiously or so as to make an impression on others. "an American who had affected a British accent"

affect³ /'æfɛkt, ə'fɛkt/ (noun) [PSYCHOLOGY] emotion or desire, especially as influencing behavior or action.

---

effect /ə'fɛkt/ (noun) 1. a change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause. "the lethal effects of hard drugs" 2. the lighting, sound, or scenery used in a play, movie, or broadcast. "the production relied too much on spectacular effects" 3. personal belongings. "the insurance covers personal effects"

effect /ə'fɛkt/ (verb) cause (something) to happen; bring about.

---

Bluntly put, an affect is what a psychologist would say their patient has if they appear to be happy, or not emoting, etc. Note that most of the time, this is pronounced differently from the other versions: the first syllable is actually stressed, and the 'a' sound is /æ/ as in 'hat' instead of the usual /ə/ sound. The definition for to effect is pretty self-explanatory.

It should be noted that the other forms of affect and effect are not nearly used as frequently as the main two, so that's why it's more likely than not that correcting someone using effect as a verb is the right thing to do. However, you should be aware that people do use the other meanings.

It's very simple, you see:

Affect is an action; this is the anchor that gives you the rest.

From there, you know there is a similar word "effect", and you know effect is a noun, because you know affect is a verb, except for when it isn't.

Now we will discuss how to handle the mirror universe affect/effect pair:

Just to recap, since you know affect is a verb, you know effect is a noun, and now you also know that there is a mirror universe effect that is a verb, and it pairs up with an affect that is a noun.

That affect is pronounced AF-fect, like AFT deck, instead of af-FECT, like, uh, FECKED. The effects are pronounced the same (or so close nobody can really tell), which admittedly does sound rather dangerous in theory, but in practice, you can really only use the mirror-universe effect on purpose anyway.

Make sense? No questions? Great, have a good one.

Other catchy and relatable mnemonics include:

• the effect
• a comes before e in the conventional alphabet, just as first an action is done in order to affect something, which then results in an effect
• rote memorization

(Note: You may find that, once you have effected the affection in question, there is an undesired effect: an affect that effectively seems to be an ineffectual affectation, in effect effecting unexpected disaffectionateness in spite of your bona fide unaffectedness. Should you be affectioned to this aftereffect, try to avoid becoming disaffected; while you may feel briefly effectless, mitigation will take effect presently and you can be on your way with your effects intact, or something to that effect.)