diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f6341efc9c..52e063ec0f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -100,6 +100,6 @@ before we merge any in, but feel free to start!
 To scan source files for spelling errors, you can use the `spellcheck.sh`
 script available in the `ci` directory. It needs a dictionary of valid words,
 which is provided in `ci/dictionary.txt`. If the script produces a false
-positive (say, you used word `BTreeMap` which the script considers invalid),
+positive (say, you used the word `BTreeMap` which the script considers invalid),
 you need to add this word to `ci/dictionary.txt` (keep the sorted order for
 consistency).