To have influence on or to?

Answer 1

The word 'influence' can be a noun or a verb, and it is used in various ways:

NOUN:

(i) the effect that someone or something has on another, and is usually followed by 'on' or 'upon'.

e.g. 'Close friends have a lot of influence (noun) on a person's behaviour.'

(ii) someone or something that has an effect on another, usually followed by 'over' or 'with'.

e.g. 'His wife was a strong influence (n.) in his political life.'

(iii) moral superiority or power.

e.g. 'Lord Knightly has a lot of influence (n.) withgovernment decision makers.'

VERB: Influence (transitive verb)

(i) To affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves or thinks. To have an effect on someone or something.

e.g.

'Many factors influence (verb) a person's career choices. '

'Did anyone influence (v.) you to change your mind?' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Points to note:

When used as verb, remember that 'influence' is a transitive verb, so it must have an object.

e.g. "Could you influence your parents to let you stay out later?"; 'your parents' is the object. You cannot say 'Could you influence to let you you stay out later?'

When used as a noun (e.g. meaning 'power') it is possible to follow 'influence' with 'to': "Do you think he has enough influence to change the council's ruling on this issue?"

The appropriate and correct way to use the word 'influence' depends on what, exactly, you want to say!

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