Wordy Wednesday: Affect/Effect

I'd like to introduce Wordy Wednesdays, even though it's Thursday, which will teach you something new about the English language. Sometimes, it will be correct pronunciation of words (for instance, that frozen stuff you eat is sherbet, not sherbert; and you frustrate me when you say fustrate); sometimes, correct grammar (no examples here; just study my blog and every word), sometimes, a little something about punctuation. I will discuss made up words that do work, and made up words that don't, the evolution (and, often, devolution) of the English language (thank you, Urban Dictionary), and so much more. In a nutshell, Wordy Wednesday is just one English nerd's attempt to save the word, one bad sentence at a time. At times, I'll play book critic, praising books with fabulous verbage, condemning those novels whose authors should consider burying themselves alive for the disgrace they've brought upon the English language.

As a fair warning, I think the Brits have it right: colour, realise, centre, ageing, cheque... you get the idea. I won't insist that you do it this way, but when you're trying to impress your boss with new vocab, just don't quote me letter for letter without checking the dictionary first.

For my first edition, let's talk about effect and affect.

effect--n. something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence

There are a BUNCH of other definitions for this word, but you get the idea. Remember when you were six and learning about parts of speech? A noun is a person, place, or thing. Effect is a thing.

affect--v. to act on; produce an effect or change in

Verb... something that implies action. As a general principle, if you can add "ed" on the end of it, it's a verb. Let's look at some differences between these two homonyms:

The pain killers had a strong effect on her after the surgery.
After the surgery, she was strongly affected by the painkillers.

I cannot affect the outcome of the race by cheering.
My cheering does not have an effect on the outcome of the race.

One last note: If you look in the dictionary, it will tell you that affect is also a noun. This is true, but it's not pronounced the same way; nor does it have a similar meaning to effect. These two words are not interchangeable, even though they sound the same.

Go forth and make use of this information!