Affect is a verb. The wind affects the tree's branches. Effect is a noun. The effect of the wind on the tree's branches was obvious. There is a corner case where effect is a verb though: The wind effected a change in the behaviour of the tree's branches. That particular use of the word is comparatively rare, though. Edit: As has been pointed out, there is an even more obscure case in which affect can be a noun: Old Man Willow's affect as the wind touched his branches was a languorous startlement. That's clumsy, though. It's hard to apply the word to a tree! It's easier to use other forms of the word, like affectation or affection.

Effect is a Noun. "The end effect is that you will feel better" Affect is a verb. "I am not really affected by that."

Affect is almost always a verb. There is an exception though, when you are describing a person as having a lack of affect (where it's a noun - used in this phrase, it means the person doesn't appear to have the ability to display emotion.) Effect is almost always a noun, but can be used as a verb. Also there are a couple of other exceptions, based on usage and pronunciation. Correct usage examples: -The depressed inmate showed a flat affect. (Noun, pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable.) -The medication did not affect the depressed inmate. (Verb, pronounced with emphasis on the last syllable.) -Do you really think a new president can effect a change in policy? (Verb, pronounced with long e sound in first syllable, emphasis on second syllable.) -The experiment showed that the heat produced no ill effects. (Noun, pronounced with schwa sound in first syllable, emphasis on second syllable.) -You may pick up your personal effects at the door. (Noun, pronounced with schwa sound in first syllable, emphasis on second syllable.) Hope this helps!

Affect is like affection or caring for someone. Effect is how something changes a thing or situation.

affect or effect? In general use, affect is only used as a verb, whereas effect is commonly used as a noun and only in formal contexts as a verb. What causes confusion is that they have very similar pronunciations and closely related meanings. If one thing affects [acts upon] another, it has an effect on it [causes it to change]. Notice also that you can affect [cause a change in] people as well as things, but you can only effect [bring about] things such as changes: The election has affected our entire society, for it has effected major changes in the government.The bad weather has a bad effect [not affect] on him. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861583968 affect (noun): feeling associated with action: an emotion or mood associated with an idea or action, or the external expression of such a feeling http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861583970 Affect and effect are frequently confused. Affect is primarily a verb meaning ‘make a difference to’, as in the changes will affect everyone. Effect is used both as a noun meaning ‘a result’ (e.g. the substance has a pain-killing effect) and as a verb meaning ‘bring about (a result)’, as in she effected a cost-cutting exercise. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/affect_1?view=uk affect - (noun -Psychology) emotion or desire as influencing behaviour. — DERIVATIVES affectless adjective. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/affect_3?view=uk affect (1, noun), affect (2, verb), affect (3, transitive verb) http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=affect affect (INFLUENCE) - verb [T] to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause them to change. affecting - adjective FORMAL causing a strong emotion, especially sadness. affect (PRETEND) Show phonetics verb [T] 1 FORMAL to pretend to feel or think something: To all his problems she affected indifference. 2 FORMAL MAINLY DISAPPROVING to start to wear or do something in order to make people admire or respect you: At university he affected an upper-class accent. He's recently affected a hat and cane. affected adjective DISAPPROVING artificial and not sincere: an affected manner/style of writing I found her very affected. affectedly adverb DISAPPROVING She laughed affectedly. affectation noun [C or U] DISAPPROVING behaviour or speech that is not sincere: She has so many little affectations. His manner reeks of affectation. "It doesn't concern me, " he said with an affectation of (= pretending) nonchalance. Common Learner Error: affect or effect? Do not confuse the verb affect with the noun effect, which means the result of a particular influence. Global warming is one of the most serious effects of pollution. Do not confuse the verb affect with the verb effect, which is formal and means to make something happen. The management wish to effect a change in company procedure. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?dict=B&searchword=affect Noun - (Singular) affect (Plural) affects (psychology) Emotion. (colloquial, psychology) A strong emotional experience. See usage notes below. (psychology) External display of emotion or mood. He seemed completely devoid of affect. Usage notes: The homophones “affect” and “effect” are sometimes confused. “Affect” conveys the influence over something that already exists, but “effect” indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities: “...new governing coalitions during these realigning periods have effected major changes in governmental institutions.” “...new governing coalitions during these realigning periods have affected major changes in governmental institutions.” The former indicates that major changes were made as a result of new governing coalitions, while the latter indicates that before new governing coalitions, major changes were in place, and that the new governing coalitions had some influence over these existing changes. The verbal noun uses of affect are distinguished from the verbal noun uses of effect more clearly than the regular verb forms. An affect is something that acts or acted upon something else. But an effect is the result of an action (by something else.) http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Affect http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/affect http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?dict=A&searchword=affect The term Affect generally suggests an emotion. It is used in various ways in various contexts: Affect (philosophy). Affect (psychology), referring to feeling or emotion. Affect display (psychology) refers to apparent signs of emotion, such as facial expression, vocalization, and posture Affective science, the scientific study of emotion. Any of several terms in abnormal psychology, including. Blunted affect or affective flattening, a reduction in emotional reactivity. Labile affect, the unstable display of emotion. Affective computing, an area of research in computer science aiming to simulate emotional processes. Literary affects, the emotional experience generated in a reader by a text, such as catharsis, kairosis, and kenosis. Affekt (the German term, which is often used in this context) in musical and other aesthetic theory. (The article currently redirects to Doctrine of the affections.) Doctrine of the affections, an important theory in musical aesthetics. Please note that although the word "affect" is most commonly found in verb form, it also exists as a noun, and as such is often confused with the word "effect" (itself most commonly a noun, but occasionally found in verb form). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affect_%28psychology%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affect_%28philosophy%29

Think of it this way: Effect is a result. It is a destination. Cause and effect. "Spitting into the wind had a bad effect." Affect is to bring about a result. It is a journey. "How will this exercise affect my grade?" Affect is also the way somebody behaves, but this definition does not typically cause confusion. I hope this helps.

See this question and the answers: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/526796

affect is the act effect is the result

What My Favorite Life says is correct. If someone/something causes a change "it" has been Affected (verb). If you are seeing the end result of the change that is the effect (noun) of the change.