Accept vs. Except
These two words sound similar but
have very different meanings.
Accept means to receive something
willingly: “His mom accepted his
explanation” or “She accepted the
gift graciously.” Except signifies
exclusion: “I can attend every
meeting except the one next week.”
To help you remember, note that
both except and exclusion begin with
ex .
Affect vs. Effect
To make these words even more
confusing than they already are,
both can be used as either a noun or
a verb. Let’s start with the verbs.
Affect means to influence something
or someone; effect means to
accomplish something. “Your job was
affected by the organizational
restructuring” but “These changes
will be effected on Monday.” As a
noun, an effect is the result of
something: “The sunny weather had
a huge e ffect on sales.” It’s almost
always the right choice because the
noun affect refers to an emotional
state and is rarely used outside of
psychological circles: “The patient’s
affect was flat.”
