Quick answer: affect is usually a verb meaning “to influence,” and effect is usually a noun meaning “a result.” The weather can affect your mood, and the weather has an effect on your mood.
Why These Words Confuse People
Affect and effect sound almost the same and are spelled with only one different letter at the start. They also have meanings that overlap, because one describes the cause and the other describes the outcome. A few uncommon uses make it worse.
Affect: The Action
As a verb, affect means to change or influence something.
- Lack of sleep can affect your concentration.
- The new law will affect small businesses.
- Her kind words deeply affected him.
Effect: The Result
As a noun, effect means the outcome or consequence of something.
- The medicine had a calming effect.
- Social media has a strong effect on teenagers.
- The special effects in the film were impressive.
The RAVEN Trick
A popular memory aid is RAVEN: Remember, Affect is a Verb, Effect is a Noun. It works in most sentences. Ask yourself whether you need an action or a thing. If you need an action, use affect. If you need a thing, use effect.
The Exceptions
Both words have less common uses.
- Effect as a verb: it means to bring about. “The new manager wants to effect change” means to cause change to happen.
- Affect as a noun: in psychology, it means a person’s displayed emotion. “The patient showed a flat affect.”
Outside of formal and technical writing you will rarely need these, so stick with the main rule.
Common Phrases
| Phrase | Word |
|---|---|
| take effect | effect |
| in effect | effect |
| side effect | effect |
| negatively affect | affect |
| be affected by | affect |
Side-by-Side Examples
Notice how the same idea can use both words. “The storm affected the crops” and “The storm had an effect on the crops” mean the same thing. The first uses a verb; the second uses a noun after “an” or “the”.
Using Them in Longer Sentences
When a sentence gets complicated, strip it down. In “The new policy, which was announced last week, will greatly affect remote workers,” the verb slot after “will greatly” needs an action, so affect is correct. In “The announcement had a greater effect than expected,” the phrase “had a greater” is followed by a thing, so effect is correct. Small words such as a, an, the, any, no and little often signal a noun, which usually points to effect. Words such as will, can, may and to often signal a verb, which usually points to affect.
Quick Check
- Stress can (affect / effect) your health.
- The (affect / effect) of the rain was a muddy field.
- How will this change (affect / effect) us?
Answers: affect, effect, affect.
Final Thoughts
When in doubt, remember that affect acts and effect is the end result. Use RAVEN as your shortcut, and you will get it right in nearly every sentence.
