Hi bakasi,
The confusion between affect and effect is not confined to non-native English speakers. I've seen it confused by native speakers.
I think it depends upon how the kryptonite manifested and who is describing it. If you were describing a physical manifestation other than Clark's mental state, effect is correct in the first sentence. I'm most familiar with affect as a noun in medicine, where Clark's mental state would be described as something like this:
Clark's reaction to red kryptonite was apathy with a flat affect.
If the use of the word "humiliating" was interpreted as describing an emotional response, your second version of that sentence would be less confusing and correct. I can see where either interpretation is possible. If Lois, for example, was describing Clark's reaction as falling on the floor and writhing in pain as humiliating, she's seeing an effect of the kryptonite on his body, not necessarily describing a feeling or mental state.
Generally speaking, affect is considered an action verb. Both affect and action start with A, so that's easy to remember. Effect is usually a noun, as in this pneumonic:
"If an event affects your life, you'll feel its effects."But not always, as in the sentence I wrote above, affect can be a noun. And to be even more confusing, effect can be a verb.
That quote above is from Grammarly post, which has a longer explanation with other exceptions to the rule (scroll down for them) and can be found at
Affect vs Effect .
Hope this helps.
