Students often confuse affect and effect, two different words with two different meanings. "Affect" is primarily a verb that means to have an influence on something. "Effect" is mainly a noun which can mean a consequence or result of an action.
Incorrect: The rising crime rate will effect the housing market.
Correct: The rising crime rate will affect the housing market.
Explanation: The correct use is "affect" because the crime rate will influence the housing market.
Incorrect: The new policy at school went into affect immediately.
Correct: The new policy at school went into effect immediately.
Explanation: While it's used correctly as a verb, "affect" is incorrect because "went" would be the verb of the sentence, making "effect" the noun.
Affect is typically used as a verb whereas Effect is most commonly used as a noun. A fun acronym to help you remember is: R.A.V.E.N. (Remember Affect Verb Effect Noun)
Eric Qua, Framingham State U, Class of 2023
Ryan Hunter, Framingham State U, Class of 2023
Alexis Atwood, Framingham State U, Class of 2023
Jocelyn Barrera, Framingham State U, Class of 2022
Kristina D'Allessandro, Framingham State U, Class of 2022
Devante Offutt, Framingham State U, Class of 2022
“Affect vs. Effect: Choosing the Right Word.” YourDictionary, 7 Nov. 2018, grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/affect-effect-grammar.html.
Affect / Effect. Vocabulary.com www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/affect-effect/.
"affect, v.1." OED Online, Oxford UP, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/3323.
"effect, n." OED Online, Oxford UP, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/59664.
"effect, v." OED Online, Oxford UP, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/59665.
Meme Generator. imgflip.com/memegenerator.
YourDictionary. "Affect vs. Effect." YouTube, 15 Nov. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFt5O_RwLtg.