affect or effect
Hi and welcome to another video in my quick fix series
where we quickly fix a common problem.
In this lesson we're looking at the difference
between affect with an A and effect with an E.
Keep watching until the end as there's a quiz
to see how much you've learned.
So what is the difference between affect and effect?
In 90% of cases affect is used as a verb and effect is used as a noun.
Notice there is a small difference in pronunciation of the two words.
Affect with an A is pronounced as if it's an "u."
like in umbrella.
Whereas effect is pronounced with an "i" sound like "it."
So A for affect equals V for verb and E for effect equals N for a noun.
AVEN think of an avenue, a long tree-lined avenue
and you will remember AVEN Affect Verb Effect Noun.
So most commonly affect is used as a verb
and it means to have an influence on someone or something
or to cause a change in someone or something.
For instance, "The pay increase will greatly affect their lifestyle."
This means that the pay increase, so more money
will influence or change their lifestyle.
So they'll have more money to spend on
maybe a bigger house or a new car.
Or the weather will affect my plans for the weekend.
So here the weather or the rain will
influence or change my plans for the weekend
maybe I've planned a picnic but now I will have to change those plans.
OK, effect with an e, on the other hand is most commonly used as a noun.
and means the result of a particular influence.
For instance, "I think I'm suffering from the effects of too little sleep."
so because you had too little sleep
the result is that you are very tired.
or "The pollution in the city had a bad effect on me."
This means the result of the pollution is bad for me
I can't breathe well.
So, remember affect with an A is mainly used as a verb
and effect with an E is mainly used as a noun.
Remember your avenue and you will remember which verb to use.
As a learner of English as a foreign language
I would focus on these main meanings
as they are by far the most common usages.
The other uses of affect and effect are often not known
or misunderstood by mother tongue speakers
but I will give you their meanings now.
So affect with an A can be used as a noun
but it's purely when talking about psychology
and it means either emotion or desire.
For example,
"This, says Yung is because they confuse feeling with emotion or affect."
and effect with an E can be used as a verb
and it means to achieve something
and cause it to happen.
This is much more formal English and not usually seen or heard in spoken English.
So, for example,
The new economic policies did little to effect change.
This means they did little to bring about or cause change.
So, now it's your turn. Let's see how much you've understood.
Fill in the gaps with either affect with an A or effect with an E.
Most people these days understand the serious blank of smoking.
Effects, this is a noun so we use effects with an E.
Remember avenue: Affect Verb Effect Noun
and it means the serious result of smoking.
2. The cold weather has really blank her health.
Write your answers down below in the comment section
and I promise to let you know if you get it right or not.
So that's it for today's quick fix
Remember avenue and you remember affect with an A equals verb and effect with an E equals noun.
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So see you very soon and thank you for watching.
affect or effect