Affect or effect?

[Uncorrect]

Do you say affect or effect, and in what contexts are each most fitting?

[ravenhair]

I've answered this before, so if you do a search, you should find a detailed reply. Basically, however, effect is the noun and affect (= have an effect on) is the verb, although effect can also be a verb, meaning "bring about", as in "to effect a change".

[geofbob]

Sorry about the length of the following - hope it's helpful. The differences between these two words are rather subtle, and it is probably best to consider their use as verbs and nouns separately. As a verb "to effect" means "to cause", but "to affect" means "to change". Thus, "this diet will effect weight loss" means that it actually brings about weight loss; but "this diet may affect your health" means that the change could be for the better or the worse. "To affect" can also mean "to pretend", as in "he affected a French accent". As a noun, "effect" is fairly common and straightforward - it means a change in something, such as "rain always has a depressing effect on me". "Affect" can also be used as a noun, though it is less common and generally only used in a psychological context - it means feeling or emotion, as in "the patient showed little affect when discussing his father's death".

[Momiamour]

To act on the emotions of = affect the rusult of = effect

[Uncorrect]

cheers guys/gals... that's helpful :) I previously used effect for pretty much everything, but I'm not gonna any longer!