OLD-WORDS-L Archives

From: Sue <>
Subject: Effective Affections
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 08:02:13 -0500

Saw this, thought I'd pass it on:

From: Wordsmith <>

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WHEN YOU AFFECT SOMETHING, YOU HAVE AN EFFECT ON IT
There are four distinct words here. When "affect" is accented on
the
final syllable (a-FECT), it is a verb meaning "have an influence
on":
"The million-dollar donation from the industrialist did not
affect my vote against the Clean Air Act."
A much rarer meaning is indicated when the word is accented on
the
first syllable (AFF-ect), meaning "emotion." In this case the
word is
used mostly by psychiatrists and social scientists -- people who
normally know how to spell it.
The real problem arises when people confuse the first spelling
with
the second: "effect." This too can be two different words. The
more
common one is a noun: "When I left the stove on, the effect was
that the house was filled with smoke."
When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it. The
less
common is a verb meaning "to create": "I'm trying to effect a
change
in the way we purchase widgets."
No wonder people are confused. Hey, nobody ever said English
was
logical: just memorize it and get on with your life.
-------------------

It is my secret suspicion that people began to use impact as a
verb precisely they were uncertain of whether to use affect or
effect...

Sue

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• Effective Affections by Sue <>