effect

«effect» in Mova's school dictionary: a change or result caused by something — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (an effect, effects); verb (effect, effects, effected, effecting — formal: to make happen)

meaning for a pupil

1) An effect is a change or result caused by something. tree →

2) Effects (special effects) are tricks of sound, light or pictures in films and shows. tree →

3) «In effect» means «really, in practice». tree →

4) Formally, to effect a change means to make it happen. tree →

5) The phrase «to this effect» means with this meaning or content, such as a notice saying something like the following. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons we study cause and effect: what happens (effect) because of something (cause), like the effect of heat on ice. In reading, cause-and-effect questions ask why things happen. In everyday life medicine has effects and side effects. Phrases: «have an effect on», «cause and effect», «side effect», «special effects», «sound effects», «take effect», «in effect», «greenhouse effect».

examples

• What is the effect of heat on chocolate? tree →
• Too much sugar has a bad effect on your teeth. tree →
• The film had amazing special effects. tree →
• The medicine took effect after an hour. tree →
• Cause: it rained. Effect: the match was cancelled. tree →
• The greenhouse effect warms the Earth. tree →
• We added sound effects to our play. tree →
• His kind words had a big effect on her. tree →
• A royal proclamation was issued to this effect. tree →

note

Countable. Big trap: «effect» is usually a noun (the result); «affect» is usually a verb (to change something): «The weather affects my mood; it has an effect on my mood.» Memory trick: Affect = Action (verb), Effect = End result (noun). A «side effect» is an extra, often unwanted effect.

In the corpora

• Behind-the-scenes videos show how effects are made, and that can help children feel less scared of film monsters.
• Signs and adverts sometimes misspell words on purpose for effect; that does not make the spelling correct.
• «Affect» is usually a verb (to change something); «effect» is usually a noun (the result).
• The effect is what a choice makes the reader feel, picture or think.
• In a plot, one event often causes the next; this is cause and effect.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «effect» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.