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What is the correct usage of "affect" & "

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:10 am
by eberntson
Could you please explain to me the correct usage of "affect" & "effect"? I really would like simple rules and perhaps a zippy saying I can remember, like “I before E, except after C.”

Hmmmmmm

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:40 am
by n0my
How about...

I'm with you
I don't have a clue
But once you do
Fill me in too????

Affect vs. effect

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:34 pm
by Brazilian dude
Affect is a verb and effect is a noun. There's also the effect as a verb, but don't worry about that.

Brazilian dude

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:02 pm
by Apoclima
Jiminy Crickets, BD! What kind of answer is that? Have you turned mystic?

AFFECT/EFFECT
There are four distinct words here.
Apo

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:21 pm
by Stargzer
I liked this quote:
When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it.
Or in other words:

The Greenhouse Effect, if true, may affect life on Earth as we know it. If so, we will have to effect changes in energy production.

Zippy?

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:56 pm
by KatyBr
Zippy it ain't Larry, but it is effective! good one!

Katy

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:40 pm
by Brazilian dude
Who's Larry? I'm sure you said something to that effect.

Brazilian dude

Re: Zippy?

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:33 pm
by KatyBr
Zippy it ain't Larry, but it is effective! good one!

Katy
Ok to re-punctuate It's: Zippy it Ain't, Larry, but it is
effective!
referring to eberntson'e request for a zippy verse. to wit:
I really would like simple rules and perhaps a zippy saying I can remember, like “I before E, except after C.”
Larry is Stargzer: he said
The Greenhouse Effect, if true, may affect life on Earth as we know it. If so, we will have to effect changes in energy production.
yours was zippier but less complete.

Katy

Thx I like it...

Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 11:57 am
by eberntson
Thank you for the simple explanations and the two sayings. I'll see if my little brain can hold it all.

:lol:

Eric

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:25 pm
by Dr. Goodword
Stargzer's rule is excellent but one more little point ties it all up nicely:

When you effect something, you cause it.

"Eberntson's question effected an interesting series of replies that affected our understanding of the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'."

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 8:49 am
by Garzo
It's a sort of Latin hokey-cokey:

You put your facere ad,
you take your facere ex,
ad, ex,
ad, ex,
and you confuse barbarians for a while!

falsetto

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:29 pm
by KatyBr
oh dear, I'm So confused!

Katy :D

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 1:00 pm
by Verbum
The most common use of affect, which is a verb, is in the past passive participle : affected, as in "She was strongly affected by the unkind remarks."

Used in other senses, the verb applies to results on the physical or mental condition.

Physical : "The accident severely affected his mobility."

Mental : "Her abuse as child affected her later relationships with men."

Effect can be a noun or a verb. As a verb it is rarely used and, to avoid confusion, it is best avoided and replaced with verbs like produce

Webter's points out that the confusion between "effect" and "affect" dates back as far as 1494.

Verbum