ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONFUSING WORDS SERIES #7: AFFECT VS. EFFECT
Having good writers in Steemit will affect its growth and value of STEEM. However, the effect of these writers leaving the blockchain social media is not a good thing for Steemit and may devalue STEEM in the long run.
DISCLAIMER: I am not an English Native Speaker nor an expert in English language. What I write here are all from experience and research. If you feel I am out of line or say the wrong things, please alert me in the comments. To this effect, I am not immuned to these confusing words myself and this series is as much as an education for me as to those who read these blog posts.
PHOTO SOURCE: LINKEDIN
Affect VS. Effect
Having a similar sound, these words have entirely different meanings.
Affect is a verb and it is used mostly as such by writers. The main meaning is “to influence or make a difference to”. When used as a noun, affect refers to the display of emotion.
Example #1: Whales voting on a blog post will greatly affect the Reputation Level of the author. (VERB)
Example #2: Bots automatically vote for blogs but their lack of affect does not make them care about the contents. (NOUN)
Effect is also a verb which means to bring something about as a result to. As a noun, it means “a result, a consequence to, an influence”.
Example #1: The exit of prolific writers will effect significant change in Steemit and the community as a whole. (VERB)
Example #2: The effects of writers leaving the social media blockchain Steemit will be felt over a period of time. (NOUN)
Further Study
- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affect
- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effect
- http://www.diffen.com/difference/Affect_vs_Effect
- https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/affect-or-effect
- http://www.k12reader.com/worksheet/commonly-confused-words-worksheet-affect-vs-effect/view/
To affect something or to the effect of something.
Many people get these two words wrong. While it doesn't affect my opinion of them it might effect losing their writing jobs.
Nice one! Thanks for dropping by. Appreciate it.
It's pretty rare for us to use affect as a noun (maybe it's just the dumbing down through bad education). I think most people will use "affection" instead, at least nowadays. Good post though, tons of native speakers mess this one up.