diff --git a/src/Workspaces/Core/Portable/Classification/ClassifierHelper.cs b/src/Workspaces/Core/Portable/Classification/ClassifierHelper.cs
index f2409444e4364..3686199280288 100644
--- a/src/Workspaces/Core/Portable/Classification/ClassifierHelper.cs
+++ b/src/Workspaces/Core/Portable/Classification/ClassifierHelper.cs
@@ -137,8 +137,10 @@ private static void AdjustSpans(ArrayBuilder<ClassifiedSpan> spans, TextSpan wid
 
                 if (i > 0 && intersection != null)
                 {
-                    var isAdditiveClassification = spans[i - 1].TextSpan == span.TextSpan &&
-                        ClassificationTypeNames.AdditiveTypeNames.Contains(span.ClassificationType);
+                    // The additiveType's may appear before or after their modifier due to sorting.
+                    var previousSpan = spans[i - 1];
+                    var isAdditiveClassification = previousSpan.TextSpan == span.TextSpan &&
+                        ClassificationTypeNames.AdditiveTypeNames.Contains(span.ClassificationType) || ClassificationTypeNames.AdditiveTypeNames.Contains(previousSpan.ClassificationType);
 
                     // Additive classifications are intended to overlap so do not ignore it.
                     if (!isAdditiveClassification && spans[i - 1].TextSpan.End > intersection.Value.Start)