Unless, of course, you run into an exception. Whatever trick you use, if you keep in mind that affect is the verb and effect is the noun, you should be well on your way to keeping the two straight. Or that the concept of cause-and-effect lays bare the approach to using these terms. It can be helpful to remember that affects cause effects. How to Memorize the Difference Between Affect & Effect When my vertigo flares up, the spinning effect makes me nauseated.Īs a plural noun, effect can also be used to refer to items-as in one’s personal effects.When the medication takes effect, your cholesterol levels should lower.The effect of the full moon caused a powerful howl.This noun can indicate the result of a change-or the thing that causes the change: I affected a limp because I was embarrassed to move slowly because of my vertigo.Affecting a vegan lifestyle won’t hide the truth shown in blood test results.He affected the behavior of a werewolf but didn’t sprout hair or fangs.Sometimes it may mean to pretend something:

Too much bacon can affect your cholesterol levels.

The full moon affected the lycanthropes.Typically used as a verb, affect-with an A-means to cause a change to something: Test your writing with Editor's free grammar checker.

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Has an effect on