The English language is not a piece of cake when you opt to learn all the chunks of this globally acclaimed language. There are scores of grammatical compulsions that should be considered to get full command of this language.
In the depth of the English language, two of the words with similar pronunciations have confused both the readers and writers at an extremely difficult level. It is the one on one bout of affect vs effect. These two words are most difficult to remember with their respective usage at the English level. This level of confusion has even shell shocked avid readers and professional writers.
The confusion between affect and effect has been a long-standing rivalry for centuries since the emergence of these two words in the English language. Therefore, before you should know the tips and tricks to use these two similar words at their respective places, you must know the reasons the confusion exists.
In the section below, we will comprehensively go through the major reasons behind this confusion. Once you have understood the reasons for this confusion, it will be easier to start the counter-working mechanism to stop making this mistake again.
Same Pronunciation
The most confusing aspect of these two words in the English language is their pronunciation. They have the same pronunciation, which makes it utterly confusing for the readers and writers to comprehend these two words accordingly.
Furthermore, one cannot differentiate them with pronunciation which is the same. It is to be noted that the confusion starts from the similarity in the pronunciation of these two words of the English language. This perfect top-class similarity of the pronunciation of these two words forms the base of the confusion that goes on to the next level.
Hence, you must know that pronunciation is the starting point of this confusion, and you can do absolutely nothing about it. There is no chance of differentiating these two words on the basis of pronunciation.
Usually, language experts recommend understanding words with the help of grammatical concepts. However, the layman’s practice is that the people will keep the major portion of their understanding to the pronunciation.
This practice will not be fruitful when you have to use words in your own writing. It will be disastrous to rely on your language skills with the understanding of pronunciation only. Therefore, it is best to take the help of grammatical concepts rather than limit your understanding of the pronunciation of words.
Similarity in Spellings
Adding more to the confusion of writers and readers alike, the words ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ are nearly identical in spelling except for the first letter. The A and E are the first differentiating letters of these two confusing words.
Apart from the similar pronunciation, the similarity in spellings adds up to the confusion of the writers and readers of the English language. It is considered a major confusing aspect that will be extremely difficult for people to comprehend.
Therefore, you must take note of the spellings issue and must not limit your usage of these two words based on their spellings, as you will be confused regarding their usage.
Literal Meaning
Moving forward to the literal meaning of these two terms, let us tell you that it is also the same, and the confusing situation is aggravated as a result. You will be stunned and baffled to know that you cannot distinguish between these two words while using their literal meanings. It is because they have the same literal meaning. The confusion regarding the usage of these two words in the English language will increase if we look at the literal meaning apart from the pronunciation point of view.
The literal meaning will confuse you regarding the use of these two words in the English language. It is a common practice that writers or people in general first understand the literal meaning of different words of the English language before using them in their own sentences.
In the case of affect and effect, these words have the same literal meaning. Therefore, this kind of situation will confuse you. Thereby, you will not be able to use these two words effectively and grammatically correct.
Grammar to the Rescue
Once you have understood the base of confusion between affect and effect, you will come to know that only grammar is the way out of this problem. You will have to depend on your grammatical knowledge to deal with this utterly hectic situation. Furthermore, the grammar concepts will be polished once you have complete command over the usage of these words at their respective place.
Once your grammar concepts are crystal clear, you will not be confused regarding the usage of affect and effect in your writing or speaking. Only grammar is the best and easy way to deal with this lifelong confusion between affect and effect. Therefore, you should have a strong grip on grammar concepts to differentiate between affect and effect easily.
The structure of good written English is based on accurate knowledge of English grammar. Although the subject of grammar is hectic and it takes some to cover all the major aspects of the language, you will be adept in the English language and its daily usage once you have got a complete understanding of grammatical concepts.
Differentiating By Grammar
Grammar is the only way to differentiate between affect and effect. You must remember that affect is used as a verb. On the other hand, the effect is used as a noun. If you have a clear idea of verbs and nouns, it will be a hassle-free task to differentiate between affect and effect.
Your grammatical concepts will make it easy for you to differentiate between affect and effect. You must remember that affect is used as a verb while the effect is used as a noun in the English language. This minor grammatical difference is enough to shun off confusion between these two words of the English language.
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