diff --git a/man7/fanotify.7 b/man7/fanotify.7
index d424c24c5..f21973dff 100644
--- a/man7/fanotify.7
+++ b/man7/fanotify.7
@@ -212,7 +212,11 @@ file access by another program.
 The bit mask in
 .I mask
 signals which events have occurred for a single filesystem object.
-More than one of the following flags can be set at once in the bit mask.
+Multiple bits may be set in this mask,
+if more than one event occurred for the monitored filesystem obect.
+The bits that may appear in
+.I mask
+are as follows:
 .TP
 .B FAN_ACCESS
 A file or a directory (but see BUGS) was accessed (read).