Do You “Affect” or “Effect” Something?

For most of my life, I avoided “affect” as a verb.

I would use “impact,” or just change the sentence around to avoid the decision.

But the verb “to impact” doesn’t really mean “to affect.” (To impact” means to hit with force, or to jolt.) And sometimes my sentence-rearranging would be awkward.

So my so-called solution didn’t really work.

Being me, I then read dozens of articles by grammar tipsters. They offered lots of definitions, explanations, examples, and memory devices.

But nothing seemed to stick. I still had to double check—these days, on Google.

But I finally thought of something that seems to have stuck (at least for a year or so now):

👉 “I must affect (influence) you to effect (bring about) change in you.”

—The “a” comes before “e” in the alphabet, so “affect” comes before “effect” in the sentence.

Hoping it will stick.

Thought I would share, in case, you have been a Googler like me.

🗳️ Do you have a memory device that has worked for you? Always looking for more ways to remember!

Fondly,

💌 Amanda

P.S. In the above, I discuss only the verb forms of affect and effect. Both words can also both be used as nouns, but I’ve never had trouble distinguishing between the noun “effect” (a result or outcome) from the noun “affect” (an expressed or observed emotional response or attribute). (“Affect” as a noun is very uncommon.)

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