Illustration for Affect and Effect: One Trick Covers Ninety Percent of Cases

Affect and Effect: One Trick Covers Ninety Percent of Cases

ByNathan Cole

Two words, one letter apart, and one of the most-searched questions in English.

The rule that covers most of it

  • Affect is a verb. It means to influence. The delay affected the schedule.
  • Effect is a noun. It means a result. The delay had an effect on the schedule.

The memory hook: Affect is an Action. Effect is an End result.

The article test

Faster than remembering parts of speech. Try putting the or an in front of the word.

  • It had an ___ on morale. — an fits, so it is a noun: effect.
  • It will ___ morale. — an makes no sense, so it is a verb: affect.

Alternatively, substitute a plain word. If influence fits, use affect. If result fits, use effect.

The two exceptions

Both are real, both are less common than the rule, and both are worth knowing because they are exactly where confident writers slip.

Effect as a verb means to bring about, to cause to happen.

  • The new manager effected several changes. She brought them about.
  • The new manager affected several changes. She influenced changes that were already happening.

Both sentences are correct and they mean different things. This is the pair that catches people, and it lives mostly in the phrase to effect change.

Affect as a noun is a psychology term meaning observable emotional expression. The patient presented with flat affect. Note the stress moves to the first syllable. Outside clinical writing you will never need it.

The phrases people get wrong

  • in effect — noun. The rule is in effect.
  • take effect — noun. The changes take effect Monday.
  • side effects — noun, always.
  • effective immediately — from the noun.
  • to effect change — the verb exception.
  • it affects me — verb.
  • I was affected by it — verb, passive.

The one that trips everybody

The changes will effect the department and the changes will affect the department are both grammatical. The first says the changes will bring the department into being. The second says they will influence it.

Nine times in ten you mean the second. When you are unsure, ask whether the thing already exists. If it does, you are influencing it: affect.

The escape route

If you are genuinely stuck, rewrite around it. The delay changed the schedule. The delay had consequences for the schedule. The delay disrupted the schedule.

Each is more specific than either original, which is usually a sign the rewrite was the right move anyway.

Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.

Nathan Cole writes the adjective guides and word lists on Grammar Simplified. Every guide he publishes is checked against Merriam-Webster for spelling and usage, the Chicago Manual of Style for punctuation, and the AP Stylebook where a convention is specific to web writing. Where a rule is genuinely disputed among those authorities, he says so in the guide rather than picking a side quietly. Corrections are welcome and get acted on — see the editorial policy.

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