diff --git a/man7/inotify.7 b/man7/inotify.7
index 04893a3a8..eb83e0637 100644
--- a/man7/inotify.7
+++ b/man7/inotify.7
@@ -322,8 +322,11 @@ so that events are not generated for children after
 they have been unlinked from the watched directory.
 .TP
 .B IN_MASK_ADD
-Add (OR) events to the watch mask for this pathname if
-it already exists (instead of replacing mask).
+If a watch instance already exists for the filesystem object corresponding to
+.IR pathname ,
+add (OR) the events in
+.I mask
+to the watch mask (instead of replacing the mask).
 .TP
 .B IN_ONESHOT
 Monitor