Past tense of RSVP





Past participle of a verb created from an acronym



Since RSVP has morphed into a verb, I was wondering the correct way of using its past tense.


"Only 1 person RSVP'd to my event."


"Only 1 person did RSVP to my event."


"Only 1 person RSVPed to my event."


Which is correct, or if they are all incorrect, what is the correct way?



Answer



In formulating past tenses of unlikely words or acronyms, an apostrophe-d is always used to prevent confusion or mispronunciation. (Obviously this is non-issue in speech.) You could also use the auxiliary do if you want to avoid this construction. These two sentences are thus correct:




  • Only one person RSVP'd to my event.

  • Only one person did RSVP to my event.



Also, keep in mind that whenever acronyms are put in past tense using the apostrophe-d formulation, no account is taken of the full logical meaning of the acronym. Thus, you have examples like



  • DIY'd (which means engaged in a DIY project or carried out DIY on, etc),

  • BS'd,

  • SWAK'd (sealed with a kiss),


and so forth.


RSVP (Répondez S'il Vous Plaît — reply if you please/please reply) is a special acronym because it functions as a verb. However, we have all found it convenient to take it away from its largely stiff, formal original context (e.g. RSVP: Mr. Jones) to more useful ones, such as:




  • Don't forget to RSVP.

  • I did not RSVP. Can I still come?

  • Anyone planning to come should RSVP, so I know how many burgers to buy.

  • Please RSVP ASAP! (never mind the repetition!)



The past tense is less common, but RSVP'd would be the correct way to write it down.


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