My MS Word grammar checker says that I should change "effect" to "affect" in the following sentence: "The car's brakes had no effect whatsoever." Which is correct? Effect? Or affect?
You said: My MS Word grammar checker says that I should change "effect" to "affect" in the following sentence: "The car's brakes had no effect whatsoever." Which is correct? Effect? Or affect?
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Assuming you are serious about this question, "affect" is seldom if ever a noun. Effect almost always is a noun, although it can be a verb, such as in the sentence, "He hoped to effect a change in their behavior with his encouragement." [Not a professional writer, just a lawyer-- and not a personal injury or criminal defense one, either]
In your sentence, "effect" is correct.
My version of Word (Office 2000) doesn't do that. Check your Autocorrect list (under the Tools menu) to see if someone has added "affect" and "effect" to the list.