A versus E

Most people think of affect as a verb and effect as a noun, but the problem is both words can actually be either verbs or nouns.

So if you really want to up your vocabulary, it's better to remember what each word actually means.

Affect as a noun means attitude.

This is psychology jargon and not common in conversation.

More likely you'll see it used as a verb, meaning to change something.

Effect as a noun means result, and as a verb, it means to accomplish something.

This usage is less common, but you might hear it in older or British English.

So, my advice affected the outcome, but the effect was to change the outcome.