How will this effect my writing?

I once saw a headline that said, "How Does Learning a Second Language Effect Our Grammar?" Actually, this was the title of a paper written by an English education student. If you're like me (and I know I am), this headline made you giggle. If you are not giggling or yelling, "Grammar fail!" then you probably should pay attention to this post.


Today we're going to talk about the difference between "effect" and "affect." It's really, really easy. You should never get it wrong again. "Effect" is a noun. "Affect" is a verb. No kidding. That's all it is. So knowing that, let's practice!

We've all been affected/effected by Rihanna's music.

Do we want the noun or the verb here? Well, if you read the sentence, it's clear that something is being done to us by Rihanna's music. That "being done to us" thing means you want the verb, or action word. So the correct sentence would be:

We've all been affected by Rihanna's music.

Get it? Another way you can check is by substituting an alternate verb and noun to see which makes more sense.

We've all been traumatized by Rihanna's music.
We've all been umbrella by Rihanna's music.

Clearly, the correct sentence is "We've all been traumatized by Rihanna's music," so again, you immediately know you want the verb form of the word.

Let's try another one!

The affects/effects of Rihanna's music include pain, irritability, violent tendencies, and depression.

So which one is it here? Well, here there's a clear verb already, which is "include." You are discussing Rihanna's music -- specifically, a quality of her music. Obviously, that means you need the noun form, not the verb form, making the correct sentence:

The effects of Rihanna's music include pain, irritability, violent tendencies, and depression.

Yay hooray! This is such an easy rule, and so many people get it wrong because they just don't realize it's that simple. So now that you know, go forth and use these words gratuitously just to mock the people who don't quite get it.

You thought I was going to make a cheap Chris Brown reference, didn't you? Too soon, guys. Too soon.