What is the Difference between Affect and Effect?

To write well, you must write error free, and that is only possible if your article is grammatically correct. But despite having good grammar, one ends up making mistakes. There are some commonly occurring mistakes such as getting confused about the difference between affect and effect.

These similar sounding words are often used interchangeably in any sentence that has 'affect' or 'effect.' To avoid this frequent occurring error, it is necessary to understand where to use 'affect' and where to use 'effect'.

(Image Courtesy: Quora)

Firstly, 'affect' is a verb and is used in sentences where the meaning implied is 'to influence or make a difference to.' Anything that means to impact or change would automatically have the usage of the verb, affect. 'Effect,' on the other hand, is a noun and it denotes the result that happens after the change. It is usually used in order to indicate an influence or result of any subsequent action. There are instances where 'effect' can be used more as a verb in a view to denote ‘a change that is being brought forward’ but the use is only done in formal context. The rules for 'affect' and 'effect' though, are not always fixed and there can be situations where you have to change the rule.

Examples of the word affect can be

#1. The bad weather affected the function badly.

#2. The sound affected my ears and made me temporarily deaf.

(Image Courtesy: Difference Between)

Examples of the word 'effect' can be

#1.  There was no effect on the traffic in spite of the heavy rains.

#2. The last shot had a tremendous effect on the entire match.

'Affect' and 'effect' is what is called as homophones or similar sounding words, another example of such words are bear/bare or week/weak. The confusion caused by such words can be eliminated by understanding the proper meaning of the word, its spelling, and usage

Have you also faced problems and confusions in the usage of the words 'effect' or 'affect'? Do let us know what you think using the comment section mentioned below.

(Featured Image Courtesy: Word agent)