Affect vs. Effect: The Easy Way to Remember

Do you get confused between affect and effect? This is the best way I know to remember the difference.

In Affect vs. In Effect: Grammar Advisory is in Effect

On Twitter, @that_angela pointed out a Calgary Herald story about wildfires that uses the prepositional phrase in affect. Here is the sentence:

James Finstad with Alberta Health Services said its health advisory is still in affect.

Now, before we all start guffawing into our sleeves, let's acknowledge that we understand perfectly well how this happened. Folks routinely mix up 'affect' and 'effect,' which are most commonly used as a verb and a noun, respectively. But once you add the little preposition 'in,' only one of the two words can follow.

Quick rules:

• The prepositional phrase in affect does not exist.
• The prepositional phrase in effect can be used as either an adjective or an adverb. In this example, it is an adjective meaning 'operational' or 'in force.'

Correction:

James Finstad with Alberta Health Services said its health advisory is still in effect.

Note: In a perfect world, James Finstad would be identified by his title, which should be set off by commas. James Finstad, a spokesperson for Alberta Health Services, said its health advisory is still in effect.

Affect vs. Effect: Gallup Goofs

This goof belongs to the venerable news service, Gallup, which just goes to show that sometimes even smartypants make grammatical gaffes. 

Where does Gallup go wrong? This headline mistakenly uses the verb "affect" instead of the noun "effect."

Quick rule: 

• Use affect if it's a verb. Blowing off homework assignments will affect my grades.
• Use effect if it's a noun. The effect on my grades was enormous.

Nifty Mnemonics:

• RAVEN: Remember Affect is a Verb and Effect is a Noun. 
• Affect = Action and Effect = End.
  

Correction: Assessing the Effect of the Afghanistan Documents Leak


Exceptions: Alas, very occasionally "affect" can be a noun and "effect" can be a verb. But if you remember RAVEN, you'll be right 99% of the time.