Dr. Shades's Grammar Lesson of the Day

[_Yoda]

Grammar Lesson #8 - Affect and Effect

Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun.

When you affect something, you produce an effect on it. Even in the passive voice, something would be affected, not effected.

Thus, the phrase, "So how is this effecting your college work?" should actually read "So how is this affecting your college work?"

[_skippy the dead]

Grammar Lesson #8 - Affect and Effect

Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun.

When you affect something, you produce an effect on it. Even in the passive voice, something would be affected, not effected.

Thus, the phrase, "So how is this effecting your college work?" should actually read "So how is this affecting your college work?"

Effect is also a transitive verb, meaning "to cause to come into being." To borrow from Merriam-Webster:

Effect and affect are often confused because of their similar spelling and pronunciation. The verb affect usually has to do with pretense <she affected a cheery disposition despite feeling down>. The more common affect denotes having an effect or influence <the weather affected everyone's mood>. The verb effect goes beyond mere influence; it refers to actual achievement of a final result <the new administration hopes to effect a peace settlement>. The uncommon noun affect, which has a meaning relating to psychology, is also sometimes mistakenly used for the very common effect. In ordinary use, the noun you will want is effect <waiting for the new law to take effect> <the weather had an effect on everyone's mood>.

[Sorry - you can take a girl out of the English major, but you can't take the English major out of the girl]

[_Yoda]

[Sorry - you can take a girl out of the English major, but you can't take the English major out of the girl]

LOL!

So..in the example I described, am I correct or do I need to repent?

;)

[_skippy the dead]

[Sorry - you can take a girl out of the English major, but you can't take the English major out of the girl]

LOL!

So..in the example I described, am I correct or do I need to repent?

;)

Partially correct - the overall discussion was incomplete, but the actual example illustrated the proper usage. So maybe it was a sin of omission, not commission? ;o)

[_Dr. Shades]

GRAMMAR LESSON #9:

Examine the following sentence:

The worst I'll say on that front is that she let's herself get tied in the kind of knots that someone often can do when trying to beleive something a bit - ermm - 'unbelievable'.

Leaving aside, for a moment, that the word "believe" was misspelled, let's examine contractions once more:

"Lets" vs. "let's"

LET'S: A contraction of "let us." EXAMPLES: "Let's see how fast we can get banned from MAD." "Let's enjoy a far more intellectually rewarding experience at MormonDiscussions.com." "Let's order a pizza."

LETS: A shorter word for "allows." EXAMPLES: "Dan_G. lets Juliann run MAD like her own personal fiefdom." "The administration at MormonDiscussions.com lets people express their opinions freely." "Unlike moderators at other boards, Dr. Shades lets people participate who disagree with him."

Therefore, the above-quoted sentence should've read:

The worst I'll say on that front is that she lets herself get tied in the kinds of knots that someone often can do when trying to believe something a bit--ermm--"unbelievable."

[_Ren]

Thanks Shades.
I always appreciate valiant attempts to make me into a better person...

P.S. Did the donation I gave to the site come through ok? ;)

[_Dr. Shades]

Thanks Shades.
I always appreciate valiant attempts to make me into a better person...

You're already a better person.

P.S. Did the donation I gave to the site come through ok? ;)

Thanks for the donation! Unfortunately, I don't handle the financial aspect of this site, so I never see the donations, the amounts thereof, or who makes them. That would be Keene. So he's the one to ask, not me.

[_keene]

Thanks Shades.
I always appreciate valiant attempts to make me into a better person...

P.S. Did the donation I gave to the site come through ok? ;)

I probably got it, but seeing as paypal uses real names, instead of your psuedonyms, I'm never quite sure who sent them.

Thank you muchly!

[_Mercury]

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

[_asbestosman]

Aber ich kan das Deutsch nicht gut sprechen und englisch auch nicht. Danke meine fuhrer fur deine hulpf.

(Go ahead grammar Nazi, correct my pseudo-deutsch).

I for one appreciate a few pointers now and then. You see, it's no fun breaking the rules unless you know what they are.

:) :) :)