Affect or Effect?

[duragezic]

I don't know which one to use. What one would I use for this:

"... our actions today will (effect or affect) the future..."

edit: Woo here's my quick paragraph on "A Sound of Thunder". I think it's pretty decent just gotta think of a damn title.

In Ray Bradbury?s short story, ?A Sound of Thunder?, he focused on evolutionary change and how human actions today will affect the future. By changing what happened in the past, the future was changed to a great degree. The hunters were aware of the consequences of time traveling if they disrupted life in the past. Travis told the hunters, ?We don?t want to change the future. We don?t belong here in the past,? (Bradbury 549). It was very important that their journeys did not affect their surroundings in any way, which is why everyone had to stay on the path. ?A little error here could multiply in sixty million years, all out of proportion,? said Travis before they left the Machine (Bradbury 550). However, when Eckels panicked and stepped on a butterfly by accident, that small mistake was multiplied over millions of years. As a result, when they returned, they found their time to be changed some due to his mistake. If by killing a single butterfly had such a drastic effect on their future, how will destroying thousands of acres of rainforests and organisms affect our future?

 

[rippy]

affect

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

you can Affect something. That something is then Effected by you.

Note: one active sentance, one passive sentance. Which one is incorrect?



<-- Grammar GOD.

 

[jlee75]

<< affect >>

 

[duragezic]

<< Note: one active sentance, one passive sentance. Which one is incorrect? >>



Wtf do those mean? Isn't it sentence too?

<----- stupid as hell

 

[UG]

Effect is a cause, affect is a result.

 

[MichaelD]

The "Affect or Effect" quandry is one of the more difficult ones in the English language; FFMCobalt gave the perfect definition/how to tell. Nothing to add.

 

[HombrePequeno]

af·fect1 (-fkt)
tr.v. af·fect·ed, af·fect·ing, af·fects
1. To have an influence on or effect a change in: Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar.
2. To act on the emotions of; touch or move.
3. To attack or infect, as a disease: Rheumatic fever can affect the heart.

n. (fkt)
1. Feeling or emotion, especially as manifested by facial expression or body language: ?The soldiers seen on television had been carefully chosen for blandness of affect? (Norman Mailer).
2. Obsolete. A disposition, feeling, or tendency.

ef·fect (-fkt)
n.
1. Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result.
2. The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain. The government's action had no effect on the trade imbalance.
3. A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon: the photovoltaic effect.
4. Advantage; avail: used her words to great effect in influencing the jury.
5. The condition of being in full force or execution: a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow.

6. Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention: The lighting effects emphasized the harsh atmosphere of the drama.
a. A particular impression: large windows that gave an effect of spaciousness.
b. Production of a desired impression: spent lavishly on dinner just for effect.
c. The basic or general meaning; import: He said he was greatly worried, or words to that effect.
effects Movable belongings; goods.

tr.v. ef·fect·ed, ef·fect·ing, ef·fects
1. To bring into existence.
2. To produce as a result.
3. To bring about. See Usage Note at affect1.

from dictionary.com

 

[duragezic]

Well I think everyone elses contradicts UG's because it sounds like effect would be the one to use.

Ah I don't get it.

Would this be the same as the other one:
"... won't have any AFFECT (I think) on evolution, ..."

But again those two phrases I said sound like a cause, not a result.

edit: N/M. I guess UG had them mixed up.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

easy way to tell:

affect: verb

effect: noun

This is a direct effect. It was affected directly

"our actions today will Affect the future..."

-Ice

 

[pillage2001]

<< you can Affect something. That something is then Effected by you.

Note: one active sentance, one passive sentance. Which one is incorrect?



<-- Grammar GOD. >>



It's sentence.........

<-- Grammar God's GOD

 

[HombrePequeno]

<< easy way to tell:

affect: verb

effect: noun

This is a direct effect. It was affected directly

"our actions today will Affect the future..."

-Ice >>



They are both verbs and nouns.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

<< They are both verbs and nouns. >>



sorry, my bad, what I meant was:
in the most commonly used forms affect is a verb and effect is a noun

-Ice

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

<< It's sentence......... >>

Hey, I said grammar, not spelling!

 

[UG]

<<...our actions today will (effect or affect) the future...>

Affect: The effect of our actions today will affect the future.

<<...Well I think everyone elses contradicts UG's because it sounds like effect would be the one to use. Ah I don't get it. .... edit: N/M. I guess UG had them mixed up....>>

Oh, yeah?

 

[C'DaleRider]

To affect means "to influence" or "to arouse the emotions"; to effect means "to bring about"; effect (noun) means "result or conclusion."

One effect [noun] of the weather is that it affects [verb] some people's moods.

We effected [verb] some changes in our system for weather forecasting.


FFMCobalt <-----Grammar God...........LOL!!!

Try growing up in a household with a mother who's also a teacher. Grammar, spelling, math...all perfection....within reason, that is. Hehehe.

 

[UG]

<<...I guess UG had them mixed up...>>

Um, ah, ... ah, sh't. Damn, your were right.

Sqrue ewe.