diff --git a/man5/utmp.5 b/man5/utmp.5
index 09507b4d9..86fa08d94 100644
--- a/man5/utmp.5
+++ b/man5/utmp.5
@@ -253,7 +253,8 @@ Clearing \fIut_id\fP may result
 in race conditions leading to corrupted utmp entries and potential
 security holes.
 Clearing the above mentioned fields by filling them
-with null bytes is not required by System V semantics, but it allows to run
+with null bytes is not required by System V semantics,
+but makes it possible to run
 many programs which assume BSD semantics and which do not modify utmp.
 Linux uses the BSD conventions for line contents, as documented above.
 .PP