Affect is a verb – “to affect” – meaning to influence or have an impact on something. Effect is the noun – “an effect (a positive or a negative effect) is the result of being affected by something. There is also a verb “to effect”, which means to bring something about – “to effect a change”.

Did the cold affect or effect you?

The verb affect means “to act on; produce an effect or change in” as in The cold weather affected the crops (it produced a change in the crops … probably killing them). ... So, when you're looking to use one of these two terms to express an action, chances are you're looking for affect.

Is someone affected or effected by something?

"Affected" means "impacted, created an effect on, changed in a certain way." "Effected" means "executed, brought about, produced something."