What is the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?
Answer: although both words can be used as verbs and nouns, usually affect is used as a verb and effect as a noun:
The film affected everybody. (= affect, verb)
The film had a powerful effect on everybody. (= effect, noun)
'Affect' indicates feelings or change; 'effect' indicates results or consequences.
Only 'effect' can be followed by the preposition 'on'. 'Affected' is often followed by the preposition 'by':
I was profoundly affected by what I saw.
'Effective' is a very common adjective for describing how something has 'affected' you:
The film had a very effective ending.
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'Effect' is also used as a verb, though it is not common. It means 'to cause' or 'to bring about':
The new management effected some important changes in the first three months.
'Affect' can be used as a noun, but is not commonly used in everyday speech. It refers to the area of psychology concerned with feelings.
