Welcome to A to Z! To kick off my alphabet series on rogue words, I’m addressing the many magical properties of the words affect and effect. These slippery tricksters can give us all sorts of spelling grief.
The most important thing to remember is that affect with an “a” is usually a verb, while effect with an “e” is usually a noun. Let’s look at these most common usages first.
Affect as a Verb
One meaning of affect is “to pretend, feign, or assume a characteristic.”
Albert the magician affected an air of confidence as he prepared to cast, but in truth, his insides were trembling.
The second (and most common) meaning of affect is “to influence or have an effect on.”
More than anything, Albert wanted his spell to affect the red-haired woman in the front row. He yearned to hear her declare her undying love for him.
Effect as a Noun
There are three main ways that effect is used as a noun.
One usage is the bizarre term “personal effects” to describe the things you keep in your purse or pockets.
Esmeralda wondered why the magician had needed one of her personal effects to perform a simple stage illusion.
Another meaning comes up a lot in stage work and movies:
As the magician waved his wand and chanted some words, Esmeralda waited for all the sound and light effects to kick in. Nothing happened.
The most common meaning of effect is “result or consequence.” Affecting something means you have an influence on it (like a magician’s influence on another person). The result of this influence is an effect (like a declaration of love). Which brings us to…
Albert looked expectantly at the woman to see the effect of his spell.
Affect as a Noun
Let’s look at the unusual case where affect is a noun. In psychology, affect is used to describe someone’s emotional state.
The red-haired woman’s affect had changed, but it wasn’t lustful happiness — more like terminal boredom.
Effect as a Verb
And finally, effect can be a verb that means “to bring about or produce.”
Albert was dismayed to find that his spell had not effected the change he had wanted. Instead, his stage rabbit jumped up and began to compulsively nibble on his ear.
The moral of the story?
Affect is almost always a verb, which has an effect that is a noun. To remember the rest, just think about Albert and Esmeralda.
And don’t give strange magicians any of your personal effects.
Bonus Word: Address
Since I am addressing affect vs. effect, it makes sense for me to talk about address, which can be difficult to spell. Think of add + dress – the first has two “d”s, and the second has two “s”s. Put them together and you have address.
Esmeralda was not going to add that magician’s name to her address book. Not only was he an awful magician — he was terribly dressed. And that rabbit accessory sure wasn’t helping.
***
This post is dedicated to Nicole de Courval and Olivia Berrier.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Definitions are from Garner’s Modern American Usage, with some help from the site Common Errors in English Usage
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, where I will blindside the bothersome letter B…
© Sue Archer at Doorway Between Worlds, 2015
This will be very useful. Effect and affect is probably one of the most difficult that people face.
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Thanks, Maryann. Yes, affect and effect is a tough one for a lot of people. So many meanings!
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I always have to think about those two every single time. I know the difference, I really do, but the number of times I type the wrong one! 🙂
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
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Hi Tasha. That’s so frustrating, when you know what you should write but your mind goes off and does something else…word habits can be really hard to break! 🙂
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I need to bookmark this. I have the worst time with these two words!
Rabbit accessories are sooo last year 🙂
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LOL yes they are, aren’t they? 🙂 Glad it was helpful for you!
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I love this! I know the commonly used forms of the words, but stumble on the others. Thanks for the explanation!
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Thanks, IC. You’re welcome! I’m happy it was helpful for you.
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Hey, that was very useful. Thanks so much for explaining this. It was very clear 🙂
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You’re welcome! I’m glad the examples were helpful for you. 🙂
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Alakazam 🙂 Great article. Thanks for sharing this. I’m looking forward to your A-to-Z posts this month! I hope they don’t disappear 🙂 This is my first year to participate in A-to-Z. If you are so inclined, feel free to drop by and leave a thought or two.
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Hi Shawn, I will be sure to stop by…lots of places to visit, and you are definitely on my list!
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Thanks!
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Never in a million years would I have thought of grammar as a bog theme! I teach English- Literature… but grammar seems to be my necessary evil. I hope to get over that fact as I think about my writing possibilities. I greatly enjoyed your first installment!
https://rogershipp.wordpress.com/ 1432
Alternative Aspirations of Picasso
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Hi Roger! I think grammar is a necessary evil for a lot of people, and so I wanted to try making it fun. It’s nice to meet someone else who works with English. Looking forward to checking out your writing! 🙂
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We will tag-team at this new thing!
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Sounds like a plan to me!
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Excellent discussion of effect vs. affect. This will serve as a great resource for those who need a reminder. What a great choice for an A to Z series.
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Thanks, Carrie! I have a whole variety of words that came from our fellow DBW readers, so hopefully there will be something in this series for everyone. 🙂
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I love how you told a full story while explaining these! Poor Albert, though. 🙂
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Thank you! I enjoyed the challenge of writing a story around it. Yes, unfortunately Albert is not having a good day! 🙂
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I am good with words and have a huge vocabulary, and I still have trouble with this one. Awesome theme, btw. “Rogue Words” is catchy and memorable.
Happy April!
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Hi Gene, I’m glad you like the theme. Happy April to you as well! Looking forward to checking out your posts. 🙂
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Love the term “personal effects.” So much more sophisticated than “my stuff.” 🙂
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LOL – I admit that I am someone who says “my stuff”… sometimes you know a lot of words, but it doesn’t mean you actually get around to using them. 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
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This is a fascinating subject. Thanks for explaining it.
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Hi Spacerguy, thanks for stopping by and reading my post! I’m glad you liked it.
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thank you Sue for that educative & amusing post! Albert & Esmeralda will be great tools to remember the verb & the noun. Looking forward your “blindside” of boring “b”!
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Glad you enjoyed it, Nicole! I think you’re really going to like what I have lined up for B. 🙂
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I love your theme. And a very timely post since I was just discussing the difference in these very words late last week, to the EN101 students I teach at a local community college. I will have to send them to this blog as a resource (so they, hopefully, never forget the difference!) Looking forward to the rest of your posts this month in the challenge. Happy blogging!
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Wow, Kat, that is excellent timing. That’s fantastic news that you think my post will be helpful for your students. I love teaching. Happy blogging to you as well! 🙂
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I hope I always get this right! Loved the magic way you did it.
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Hi Anabel! I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
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Whenever I’m writing and I have effect or affect, I always have to pause and make sure I’m using the right one. Always throws me off for a second.
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee’s Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
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Hi Patricia! You’re definitely not alone. It’s crazy how many look-alike words there are in the English language!
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Affect and effect used to give me such trouble when I was younger until I learned about the verb vs noun trick. Looking forward to the rest of the alphabet!
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Yes, that verb vs noun distinction is very handy. Thanks for commenting! I hope you enjoy my future alphabet posts. 🙂
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Those are probably two of the words I confuse the most. Helpful post!
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Thanks, Sonia!
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Great post! Can’t wait to see what you have in store for the rest of the month!
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Thanks, Samantha! I’m happy you liked it.
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I’d never realised that personal effects are a weird term, but you’re right, it is! Great start to A to Z Sue! 🙂
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Thanks, Celine! 🙂
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Oh my goodness, I think you just broke everything that I thought I knew about grammar. I’m going to have to go reread a bunch of my old grammar books now. Thanks. 😛
N J Magas, author
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I’m not sure you should thank me in that case, N J! 😉 The more I learn about grammar and style, the more I find out that hardly anything is black and white. It’s an adventure!
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I am a retired science teacher and have spent my time correcting the use of affect and effect. Onward to the blindside tomorrow. Take care.
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You too, Ann! Thanks for reading. 🙂
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Well done! When I’m about to use “affect” or “effect,” I always have to stop and think to make sure I get the correct one. Thinking about the stage magician’s act will help me remember.
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That’s great to hear! Thanks for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it.
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Ooh this was a good one. Affect/effect, tricky little beasts. I particularly like how “effect” is used in the definition of “affect.” 😀
Interestingly, “address” in Swedish is spelled “adress” so, yeah, I get confused there sometimes too.
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Thanks, Sara! I didn’t know “address” has only one D in Swedish – thanks for sharing that tidbit.
It’s amazing how many words in the dictionary are defined in that circular way. Apparently even dictionary writers have a hard time explaining things. 🙂
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It is tricky, but it gets my goat when people get it wrong, I can’t help it! I can’t think of “effect” as a verb being used in anything other than “effect a change”. Which is quite odd, really.
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Hi, Nick! I think we all have our different blind spots when it comes to words. I don’t have trouble with affect and effect, but I certainly do with some others!
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Oooo~! That last one was definitely the tricky widget! I’ve always just remembered it as “…in order to effect global climate change..” Though sometimes my fingers type whatever they want, regardless of what my brain knows about the e’s and a’s of effect and affect. Great first post!
Alex Hurst, A Fantasy Author in Kyoto
Out of Print, Fiction authors and their shorts
A-Z Blogging in April Participant
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Thanks, Alex! Those tricky fingers just like to do their own thing, don’t they? 🙂
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Thanks, I’ll be bookmarking this post! This is one mistake I know I’ve made. Such a useful and fun theme. : )
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Glad you like it, Robin! It’s wonderful to hear that it will be helpful for you. 🙂
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Hee, hee. I certainly will not give any personal effects to any magicians. I usually remember the two words by the noun/verb distinction, but there are the exceptions, and now I have a great way to remember those, too. 🙂 Thanks!
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Yes, I thought I’d better include them all! You’re welcome, Lori. 🙂
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Oh my goodness!!!! I don’t think I’ve EVER been so delighted by a grammar lesson 🙂 I’ve never seen anyone have their example sentences tell a story. Thank you so much for this! I am SO sharing this on facebook. 😀
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Thanks, Olivia! I had a blast doing it. There will definitely be more posts to come like this one. 🙂
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An excellent guide! I think the verb form of ‘effect’ is one of the least known and used, but it’s a great word.
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Hi, Kaitlin! Thanks for commenting – I’m happy you liked the post. Yes, effect is a very elegant way of expressing that action. Sadly underused!
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Hi, your blog was recommended to me and so I’ve just through all your fantastic A to Z posts – excellent articles, enjoyable reading and useful tips 🙂 I look forward to visiting again
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Welcome! That’s great to hear, thank you very much!
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Apologies for not popping by sooner – wow! You HAVE been busy – I’ve got a LOT to catch up on…
Wherever u go, I Follow… several parsecs behind it seems!
This affect/effect business is a vital call – I mastered that long ago anyway! but I see people get it wrong time and time again
Great Post, great service
Cheers!
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No worries, Brad! I have been busy, yes – as soon as I can find the time I will be sure to come by your way and see what you’ve been up to. 🙂 Glad you liked the post, and that you’ve already mastered affect and effect!
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