Affect vs. Effect

I'm pretty sure you've thought about the differences between 'affect' and 'effect'. In this lesson, we will learn all about them.

What Is Their Main Difference?

Both of these words refer to a change in something/someone. However, 'affect' is used to refer to a person's emotional reactions and the way something is influenced by another. 'Effect', on the other hand, means the result of a change.

Differences

As stated above, 'affect' can be used to refer to someone's emotional responses and how a particular thing influences them. Look below:

The relationship she had with him deeply affected her.

I wasn't offended by your joke Mathew, so no hard affects.

Here, 'affect' is a noun and it means 'feelings'.

However, 'effect' is used when we want to show the result of a change. Look at the following examples:

So, how did women flooding into streets effect change in the society?

Here, 'effect' is a verb.

How can you think that the new rule will have any positive effects on us?

Similarities

Both of these words are used to show a change in someone/something. Look at the following examples:

He was greatly affected by the trauma he went through.

So, what were the negative effects of this experiment?

Are They Interchangeable?

Although these words are extremely close, they are even pronounced the same, remember not to use them interchangeably so as not to confuse others. Compare:

✓ I didn't mean to hurt you. What with all the hard affects?

Here, we are referring to some negative emotions like anger, grudge, hatred, etc.

I didn't mean to hurt you. What with all the hard effects?

'Effect' refers to the result of something so it cannot be hard.

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