Affecting vs. Effecting
Affecting vs. Effecting
(OP)
I've started to recognize the difference in effect and affect but in this case I am stumped:
Closing the valve allows the operator to add water without affecting the operation of the system.
Is this correct?
I was thinking that the operator would need to affect the operation before it would be effected. Does this make sense?
Thanks,
David
Closing the valve allows the operator to add water without affecting the operation of the system.
Is this correct?
I was thinking that the operator would need to affect the operation before it would be effected. Does this make sense?
Thanks,
David





RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
As a verb, "effect" means to implement (like a plan).
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
Affect is typically used as a verb. Closing the valve does not affect the system.
Effect is normally not used as a verb except in b.s. speak, like politician's talk about effecting change.
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
The last post I read before posting was discussing the differences in "these measures affect savings" and "these measures effect savings." The cloudiness set in.
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
It is not really clear if affect is to be associated with "closing the valve" or "add water".
Consider also:
What is the purpose of adding water if not to affect the system in some way?
I'm sure the sentence could be restructured, or broken into two sentences to improve its clarity, but without knowing more about the context I can't suggest how.
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
"I was thinking that the operator would need to affect the operation before it would be effected. Does this make sense?"
None whatsoever. For the operator to affect the operation, that means the operator would need to alter the operation. Affect doesn't in the least bit mean initiate. Effect as a verb does kind of mean initiate, but when in doubt, just avoid effect as a verb; most of the time it's just a misspelling of affect.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
Yes it does.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
af·fect –verb (used with object)
1. to act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affected the crops.
The effect of closing the valve is not affecting the system operation when water is added.
If you do not close the valve, then the act of adding water is assumed to affect the system in some way, which is presumed to have some effect on operation.
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
Affect is acting on something in any way. "Sneezing in my hand affected my hygiene.”
Effect is the result or causing of something. "Sneezing into my hand had the effect of making me unhygienic.”
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
For example,
“I will effect my hand to my mouth to cover my sneeze.”
“I was surprised by my affect on the opinions of others.”
“Even though I didn’t need to make any modifications to the wording, I affected the assembly procedure by redesigning this component.”
“I effected change in the assembly process to improve efficiency without having to change the assembly procedure.”
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
Affect (Verb) - Commonly used - To influence or alter something.
Effect (Noun) - Commonly used - The change which results from something else.
....so if A affects B to cause C, C is A's effect upon B.
But there are also:
Effect (Verb) - Used in general English, though less commonly than the first 2 forms - To bring something about - as in "I need to effect a change in policy" (note that what I'm effecting is the change, if I'd wanted to talk about the policy, I'd "affect" it).
Affect (Noun) - Much more specialised - A medical term describing the emotional state of an individual (as in: "Flattened affect is a frequent symptom of schizophrenia".
A
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
A.
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
" Don't confuse affect and effect. Affect means 'make a difference to' as in "the changes will affect everyone." As a verb effect means 'bring about a result', as in "she effected a cost-cutting exercise."" Mmmm
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
Thank you
Danny Garant, ing.jr
Groupe Stavibel Inc.
www.stavibel.qc.ca
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
I agree with HgTx on that one.
The example given above "Cold weather affected the crops." would certainly make no sense if we changed it to "Cold weather initiated the crops."
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RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
The meaning of "affect" that MintJulep cites, "to act on; produce an effect or change in," is not what "initiate" means.
fcsuper's examples are correct except for this one:
“I was surprised by my affect on the opinions of others.”
That one's no good. That should be "effect". "Affect" as a noun means feeling, emotion, mental state. You could be surprised at the effect of your affect on others (as in, your aura was bumming them out).
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
However "affect" as "to act on; produce an effect or change in," can be used in a context where it means the same thing as "initiate".
"The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union affected American policy, resulting in acceleration of America's space program."
"The launch of Sputnik initiated an acceleration of America's space program."
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
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RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
"Affect" as a verb does not mean "initiate". "Effect" more or less does.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Affecting vs. Effecting
"affect, effect. As a verb, affect means to influence ("Smoking may affect your health") or to adopt a pose or manner ("She affected ignorance"). Effect as a verb means to accomplish ("The prisoners effected an escape"). As a noun, the word needed is almost always effect (as in "personal effects" or "the damaging effects of war"). Affect as a noun has a narrow psychological meaning to do with emotional states (by way of which it is related to affection)."