Cc'd, OK'd and RSVP'd

​Here's a modern apostrophe puzzle that would have baffled Shakespeare.

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When an initialism becomes a verb, how do we add -ed? Consider these examples:

• I cc'd everyone in the email.

• She OK'd the proposal.

• They RSVP'd yesterday.

 

The apostrophe is there for a good reason. Without it, ccd, OKed and RSVPed look awkward and can be difficult to read. The apostrophe neatly separates the abbreviation from the ending, making it immediately obvious that -d represents the past tense.

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This isn't a possessive apostrophe, of course. It's simply acting as a bridge between an abbreviation and its grammatical ending.

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Not every abbreviation needs this treatment. Acronyms such as laser, radar and scuba have become ordinary words, so they take endings in the usual way: lasered, radared (rarely!) and scubaed (rarer still!).

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So, if you've cc'd your colleagues, OK'd a report or RSVP'd to a party, don't worry—the apostrophe has earned its place. It's helping English adapt gracefully to the alphabet soup of modern life. It also reinforces one of our recurring themes: apostrophes are sometimes used for clarity, not just for possession or omission.