Prepositions after verbs

How to use affect with prepositions

The verb affect usually takes a direct object. The adjective affected is commonly followed by by. Phrases such as affect on belong mainly to the noun effect, not the verb affect.

Quick answer

Common patterns with affect

Use affect directly before the thing influenced: affect the result. Use affected by after the adjective affected. Expressions such as affect on and affect to are usually incorrect for the verb affect.

The storm will affect travel plans.
Many workers were affected by the outage.
Stress can affect your sleep quality.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

affect + object

Influencing something

Affect usually takes a direct object without a preposition.

Rising prices affect small businesses.

The decision could affect thousands of employees.

affected by + cause

Showing what causes an effect

Use affected by with the adjective affected to name the cause or influence.

Local farms were affected by the drought.

His mood was affected by the news.

affect with + noun

Using with in specialised contexts

Affect with appears in technical or medical contexts to describe giving or imposing something.

The disease may affect with severe fatigue in rare cases.

The condition affected patients with breathing difficulties.

effect on + noun

Talking about results with the noun effect

Use the noun effect, not the verb affect, before on.

The policy had an effect on tourism.

Researchers studied the effect on memory.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction

Example

Meaning

affect by

The region was affected by flooding.

correct when affected is an adjective or passive form

affect in

The change affected people in different ways.

In usually begins another phrase and is not selected by affect

affect with

Doctors treated patients affected with the virus.

used mainly in medical or technical contexts

affect on

The new law had an effect on trade.

On normally follows the noun effect, not the verb affect

affect to

The rule affects all employees.

Affect to is generally not standard in modern English

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using affect on instead of effect on

Use the noun effect before on.

✕ The change had an affect on sales. ✓ The change had an effect on sales.

Adding an unnecessary preposition

Affect usually takes a direct object.

✕ The weather affected on our plans. ✓ The weather affected our plans.

Using affect to

Affect is normally followed directly by the object.

✕ The cuts affected to local schools. ✓ The cuts affected local schools.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The delay will ___ our schedule.

2. Thousands of homes were ___ the storm.

3. Researchers studied the ___ sleep quality.

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Frequently asked questions

Is affect on correct?

Usually no. Use affect as a verb without on, or use the noun phrase effect on.

Can affect be followed by with?

Yes, but mainly in specialised or medical contexts such as affected with a disease.

What is the difference between affect and effect?

Affect is usually a verb meaning influence. Effect is usually a noun meaning result.

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