Is this sentence correct? "She effected an odd pose."
Yes | 23 (30%) |
No | 52 (69%) |
Congratulations to 69% of you. The correct word is "affected," as in "assumed the character or attitude of."
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8 comments:
Couldn't disagree with you more.
American Heritage Online says, "
Affect and effect have no senses in common. As a verb affect is most commonly used in the sense of "to influence" (how smoking affects health). Effect means "to bring about or execute": layoffs designed to effect savings."
Therefore, one's personality may affect her pose, but first she must effect a pose for us to see the affectation.
The sense of "affect" we're concerned about refers to pretending something, as in an affectation. So if someone affects a pose, she is being artificial. You can also affect an accent or a high voice.
I had to go look this one up before I voted, and I also disagree. I found this on merriam-webster.com:
Effect and affect are often confused because of their similar spelling and pronunciation. The verb affect usually has to do with pretense . The verb effect goes beyond mere influence; it refers to actual achievement of a final result.
So based on this, I don’t think she pretended to have an odd pose; she actually accomplished the odd pose.
Sorry, Sentence Sleuth, I agree with Anonymous and Westley.
I suppose we're going to have to agree to disagree!
I don't think either is the right word to use. Why not just say "assumed"? She did not "assume the character or attitude of" the pose. She assumed the pose. She also did not pretend to make a pose. She posed.
I like your idea, Kate. Thanks for your input!
Changing the game? Well then: "She struck a curious pose." "She posed oddly." "Her pose was weird." And the all-time favorite: "In the cemetery, she unearthed an eldritch pose."
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