On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 17:04:45 -0600, "Richard Fry"
wrote:

"Someone probably rejected relativity and said, 'How much
effect does the orbit of Mercury have on the people of earth?' "
_______________

The word "effect," (result, consequence) is a noun. "Affect" is a verb (to
act upon, to change or to cause a change), and, probably the appropriate
word for the context of your post.

Perhaps the use of correct English would reduce reader confusion?

"Best regards"

RF

Hello RF,

From the Oxford English Dictionary
effect v. 1589
1. to bring about, to accomplish
...
4. confused with Affect

effect sb. 1812
1c. the amount of work done in a given time.

affect sb. 1626
1. a mental disposition

affect v. 1794
1. to aim at, seek

Correct English is, and has always been, a matter of usage within
context. Verbs can serve as Nouns and Nouns as Verbs. Further, even
clauses and phrases may serve as Nouns or Verbs. The English language
is rich with example. Languages such as French and Italian have
historically had the affect to effect a fixed and static meaning to
every word and thus affect rules of "correctness." This effect has
lead to those languages becoming museum pieces. The common usage of
"affect" generally implies a faddish mannerism (which is frequently
observed in this forum e.g. a lot posting is merely affectation).

However, as to the issue of the sentence:
"How much effect does the orbit of Mercury have
on the people of earth?"

"the orbit of Mercury" is the Subject with the Predicate "does have"
and the Compliment of "on the people of earth"

"How much effect" is an adverbial phrase modifying the Predicate
through describing degree using the noun "effect" modified by the
adjective "much."

Hence through usage, syntax, and definition, "effect" is a noun.

To test this usage, you can re-arrange the sequence to find:
"The orbit of Mercury does have how much effect on the people of
earth?" without changing the sense of the question. It is rather
stilted and perhaps "The orbit of Mercury has how much effect on the
people of earth?" flows better, but this, again, has no impact on the
noun usage of "effect."

The key to the analysis is found in the adverb "how" with the
proximity of the adjective "much" and "effect" a noun perfectly
offering the classic characteristic of degree.

In other words, the sentence is both grammatically correct and
conforms to your expectation. A better criticism would be that it is
gratuitous.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC