kdacompanies.blogg.se

See the connection? Affect means “make a difference to,” whereas effect means “a difference made.”

So what does effect mean exactly? According to Google, it’s “a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.” For now, we can paraphrase this and call it “a difference made by something.” With this, we can easily compare it to affect, which is “(to) have an effect on make a difference to.” It’s no wonder we get the two mixed up so often. In fact, the word effect is even embedded in the definition of affect! The latter word stems from the former in meaning, making the two intrinsically connected. This distinction is extremely important, especially since the rest of the definitions are sparse in detail. To affect is to impact or influence something, while an effect is a result or consequence of an action. The second difference between affect and effect is listed right before the description: affect is a verb, or an action word, while effect is a noun. However, the emphasis on each starting vowel often relaxes itself in the middle of conversation, leading both to be pronounced like “chef.” This effectively removes the auditory distinction between each word and is a starting point behind much of the confusion surrounding them. The difference lies in the first syllable of each word: affect is pronounced like “laugh,” whereas effect is pronounced like “beef.” The pronunciation of the two words is strikingly similar, much like the spelling. To learn the difference between affect and effect, let’s begin by consulting Google for the definitions of each word:

They look similar, they sound similar, but they are quite different.