“How can I effect the outcome I desire?” means, “How can I create a specific outcome?” The outcome in question may not occur if the speaker doesn’t effect it. For example, “How can I affect the outcome?” means, “How can I influence the outcome?” The existence of the outcome is presumed. It may help to remember that to effect something is to bring it into existence to affect something is to influence something that already exists. (165)Ĭonfusion over the correct use of the verb effect shows up frequently in discourse about “effecting change.” Effect, rather than affect, is correct because the phrase refers to creating, not influencing, change. The new wage offer affected our willingness to compromise on other issues, and we were able to effect a settlement within a few hours. Claire Cook offers an example in which both words are used correctly as verbs: Garner adds, “But as a verb, effect means ‘to bring about produce’” (26). Yet this rule, which is widely taught to help students differentiate between the two words, is not comprehensive. “In ordinary usage,” however, according to Bryan Garner, “ affect is always a verb it means ‘to influence to have an effect on.’ Effect, as suggested by its use in that definition, is primarily a noun meaning ‘result’ or ‘consequence.’ To affect something is to have an effect on it” (26). The “family tease” appeared well-intended, but its power (see “Effect”) was felt keenly.īy labeling this definition of affect “psychology,” the dictionary indicates that its use is specialized. Gopnik is using affect in the sense Merriam-Webster describes as “a set of observable manifestations of an experienced emotion: the facial expressions, gestures, postures, vocal intonations, etc., that typically accompany an emotion” (“Affect”). Yet the sentence employs both affect and effect correctly as nouns. It was a family tease, and, like all family teases, was well-meaning in its affect and sharp-edged in its effect. For example, Google will underline “affect” in blue-its marker for “words that are deemed to be grammatical flubs” (Lanaria)-if you paste this sentence by Adam Gopnik into a Gmail message: You may have been taught that affect is a verb and effect is a noun-and so may the folks who created your grammar checker.
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