Affect and Effect

Use 'affect' as the action and 'effect' as the result.

'Affect' and 'effect' are often confused because they sound close and are linked in meaning. Most of the time, 'affect' is a verb, an action: 'The cold weather affected the plants. ' 'Effect' is usually a noun, a thing: the result of something. 'The cold had a bad effect on the plants. ' A memory trick is A for Action (affect) and E for End result (effect).

You can also test by putting 'the' in front: you can say 'the effect' but not 'the affect'. Read this science sentence: 'Sunlight affects how fast a plant grows; more sunlight usually has the effect of faster growth. ' The first is the action, and the second is the result.

• 1affect = an action (verb): to change something.
• 2effect = a result (noun): the change itself.
• 3A for Action, E for End result; 'the effect' sounds right.