diff --git a/src/merkle/error.rs b/src/merkle/error.rs
index 51079b79..5e779441 100644
--- a/src/merkle/error.rs
+++ b/src/merkle/error.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,6 @@ pub enum MerkleError {
     NumLeavesNotPowerOfTwo(usize),
     #[error("root {0:?} is not in the store")]
     RootNotInStore(RpoDigest),
-    #[error("partial smt does not track merkle paths for key {0} so updating it would produce a different root compared to the same update in the full tree")]
+    #[error("partial smt does not track the merkle path for key {0} so updating it would produce a different root compared to the same update in the full tree")]
     UntrackedKey(RpoDigest),
 }