diff --git a/t/test-lib-functions.sh b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
index 35616d0d3e8458..e94a0746b35b92 100644
--- a/t/test-lib-functions.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
@@ -1887,8 +1887,8 @@ test_subcommand_inexact () {
 		shift
 	fi
 
-	local expr=$(printf '"%s".*' "$@")
-	expr="${expr%,}"
+	local expr=$(printf '"%s",' "$@")
+	expr="${expr%,}.*"
 
 	if test -n "$negate"
 	then