affect vs effect

Affected vs. Effected

Affected and effected are two words that are commonly confused in writing, while their meanings are
related they are very different. We want to make sure we're always communicating effectively so
keeping these two words straightforward is important.

Effected means to actually do something, to execute, produce or bring about something. It's an action
word of actually doing something, i.e. "He effected a reorganization of the finance department."

Affected is used to describe something being impacted. This is a word you would commonly use when
something has been impacted, i.e. "The accountants in finance were affected by the reorganization."

You can even see the two used in the same sentence, "He effected a reorganization of the department
and many of the people there were significantly affected."

They're essentially pronounced the same so this can lead many people to get them flipped when
writing them. Keeping them straight can be difficult but keeping on top of them will ensure your
communications are grammatically correct.

By: Jeffrey Glen

Very good explanation!