Question 1

Is it "affect" or "effect"?

Accepted Answer

Use affect for the verb (influence). Use effect for the noun (result). The quick test: can you put "the" in front? The effect works; the affect usually does not. Another test: if the word is the action of the sentence, it is almost always affect; if it is the thing left behind, it is effect. This is the single most-searched grammar question in English — it has been the top "commonly confused words" query on Google every year since search-trends data have been public. The pair trips up confident writers because both words exist in both grammatical slots, just rarely. Exception: Effect can be a verb meaning "to bring about" (effect change), and affect can be a noun in psychology (a flat affect). Both are rare in everyday writing — if you are not sure, the common pairing is verb-affect and noun-effect.

Question 2

Is "affect" a verb?

Accepted Answer

Yes. "Affect" is almost always a verb, meaning to influence or change something: the weather affected our plans.

Question 3

Is "effect" a noun?

Accepted Answer

Yes. "Effect" is almost always a noun — the result of something: the effect was immediate.

Question 4

Is it "deeply affected" or "deeply effected"?

Accepted Answer

"Deeply affected." The word describes an action done to someone — that's the verb affect.

Question 5

Is it "side affects" or "side effects"?

Accepted Answer

"Side effects." The side things are results, not actions — that's the noun effect.