台灣學生背單字時，常把 affect 跟 effect 當「同義字」記成「影響」——結果在 IELTS Writing 裡，the affect of social media on teenagers 一寫出來，Lexical Resource 跟 Grammar 同步扣分。

為什麼是 Taiwanese 特有錯誤

中文「影響」一個詞同時當動詞跟名詞用：

  • 「污染影響健康」（動詞）
  • 「污染對健康的影響」（名詞）

英文卻把兩個詞性硬切開：

| 詞 | 詞性 | 中文 | 發音 | |----|------|------|------| | affect | 動詞 | 影響 (動作) | /əˈfekt/ | | effect | 名詞 | 影響、效果 (結果) | /ɪˈfekt/ |

口訣：Affect = Action (動作 = 動詞)；Effect = End result (結果 = 名詞)。

6 個 ❌ vs ✅ 對比

| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct | |---------|-----------| | Pollution affects are serious. | The effects of pollution are serious. | | The new policy effected many workers. | The new policy affected many workers. | | Climate change has a big affect on agriculture. | Climate change has a big effect on agriculture. | | How does stress effect students? | How does stress affect students? | | The affect was immediate. | The effect was immediate. | | This will negatively effect the economy. | This will negatively affect the economy. |

進階陷阱：effect 也可以當動詞

罕見但合法：effect change = 促成改變、實現改變（formal）。

The new minister hopes to effect real change in the education system.

但 99% 的 IELTS 場合用不到——記住 affect = 動詞、effect = 名詞就夠了。

Quick Drill — 填入 affect 或 effect

  1. The economic crisis _____ millions of households.
  2. The side _____ of this medication are mild.
  3. Long working hours _____ mental health.
  4. What _____ does technology have on children?
  5. Climate change is already _____ farming.
  6. The new law had no real _____ on traffic.
  7. How will Brexit _____ small businesses?
  8. The _____ of social media on teenagers is well documented.
  9. Sleep deprivation _____ memory and attention.
  10. We need to consider the long-term _____ of automation.

Answer Key

| # | 答案 | 解釋 | |---|------|------| | 1 | affected | 動詞 + 受詞 | | 2 | effects | 名詞 (side effects 副作用) | | 3 | affect | 動詞，現在式三單原形 | | 4 | effect | have an effect on 是固定搭配 | | 5 | affecting | 進行式動詞 | | 6 | effect | 名詞，had no effect | | 7 | affect | 動詞原形跟在 will 後 | | 8 | effect | 名詞，the effect of X on Y | | 9 | affects | 動詞，主詞為單數 | | 10 | effects | 名詞複數 |

記住這一條

寫到「影響」時先停 0.5 秒問自己：這是動作還是結果？ 動作就 affect、結果就 effect。再加一個小檢查——**前面有 the / a / an / this / its 的，幾乎一定是 effect（名詞）**。

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