AkashM wrote:
Damn! It took me 10 mins to understand what you and Ajitesh are trying to say.
Appreciate the help! Thanks and kudos to both of you.
Looking at my post now, I can only imagine that I was in a bit of a hurry when I wrote it.
Here is a slightly better response for anyone else who wants to evaluate this question:
i. Impact as a noun:
1. ~the action of hitting or colliding
A sufficiently strong impact could deflect an asteroid. ← "A strong
collision could deflect an asteroid"
This is absolutely fine.
2. ~an effect
The are studying the impact of buybacks on stock prices. ← "... studying the
effect of buybacks..."
The impact on EPS is likely to be significant. ← "The
effect on EPS is likely to be significant"
This is absolutely fine.
ii. Impact as a verb form:
3. ~hit
The DART spacecraft will impact a small moonlet. ← "DART will
hit a small moonlet"
This is absolutely fine.
4. ~affect
Stock buybacks impact earnings per share. ← "Buybacks affect EPS"
Some people would not use
impact as a verb to mean
affect.
iii. Impact on as verb5. ~affect
Stock buybacks impact on earnings per share. ← "Buybacks affect EPS"
Many people would be uncomfortable using
impact on as a verb to mean
affect.
I would not expect to see (iii) (
impact on as a verb) in the correct option (
similar, official question), but option C uses
impact as a verb to mean
affect. Although some people would object to this, it is widely accepted. For this reason, I wouldn't advise a test taker to worry too much about this question.
To summarize: (a) this may not be a good question, and (b) you should be suspicious only of (iii) (
impact on as a verb).