What's the best way to remember the difference between affect and effect?

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I remember it by VANE - verb affect noun effect. Although this may not work 100% of the time, it seems to help me.

Also, effect is usually proceeded by an, the, some, this, that, take, into, one.

I like this website for any grammar and punctuation questions: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Answered by dunbarcsr {1137}
5/16/2010 6:32:34 PM

[1 Votes]

I try to nail this one on the spot because I do write them differently in steno. Doesn't always work out. The way I remember it is via parts of speech. AFFECT is always a VERB and EFFECT is usually a NOUN.

EFFECT can also be a verb, but it is in a very narrow range, most commonly when someone refers to effecting a change, etc. I have heard it used this way in testimony before, but 99 percent of the time it has been by an expert witness.

I don't really have any clever mnemonic device for this one. I dunno - maybe you can think of the A in affect as being an upside down V for verb...

However, affect can be a noun when used in the psychological sense. A person's affect--pronounced AF-fekt--refers to their outward display of their feelings, emotions, etc. You might hear of a flat affect, meaning the person was not showing much emotion. Once again, that would be pronounced AF-fekt. - VickyMac 5/23/2010 12:43:56 AM | Flag

Answered by jeanese {2372}
5/16/2010 9:35:10 PM

[1 Votes]

I would agree with everything Mz Dunbar says above, of course. And only add one more use for affect sometimes used in psychological context = exmp: Her affect was flat because she was on medication.

This is referring to expression, mood. But it's also a narrow usage.

Otherwise they're pretty easy to remember if you follow the verb/noun rule/reminder.

Answered by Magic Fingers {161}
5/17/2010 5:57:32 PM

[1 Votes]

for the most common usage, this works for me: affect with an A is the action, and effect with an E is the end result.

Answered by VickyMac {76}
5/23/2010 12:45:44 AM

[0 Votes]

Well, for Pete's sake--where is the comment I just posted? Anyway, the psychological affect is pronounced AF-fekt. Maybe my comment will show up later.