Xtian Fish Badges 4772And english is supposed to become the standard language for the world ... ? :-) English isn't even a language - it's a rudely glued-together mishmash of languages. Inconsistent in spelling, grammar, syntax...
It's usenet tradition to obsess over microscopic details - especially if you cannot rebut the actual statements being made.
For the record :
"There are four distinct words here. When ãaffectä is accented on the final syllable (a-FECT), it is a verb meaning ãhave an influence onä: ãThe million-dollar donation from the industrialist did not affect my vote against the Clean Air Act.ä A much rarer meaning is indicated when the word is accented on the first syllable (AFF-ect), meaning ãemotion.ä In this case the word is used mostly by psychiatrists and social scientists÷ people who normally know how to spell it. The real problem arises when people confuse the first spelling with the second: ãeffect.ä This too can be two different words. The more common one is a noun: ãWhen I left the stove on, the effect was that the house filled with smoke.ä When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it. The less common is a verb meaning ãto createã: ãIâm trying to effect a change in the way we purchase widgets.ä No wonder people are confused. Note especially that the proper expression is not ãtake affectä but ãtake effectä÷become effective. Hey, nobody ever said English was logical: just memorize it and get on with your life."
Xtian Fish Badges 4773My invisible friend thinks you have problems. You know, the problem with this grousing about the public education system being one thing and one thing only (you think it's liberal), is that...
In truth, I screw these two up every so often myself. No biggie - context usually reveals what was ACTUALLY meant.
