diff --git a/builtin/merge.c b/builtin/merge.c
index 4a4c094..f553f89 100644
--- a/builtin/merge.c
+++ b/builtin/merge.c
@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ static int try_merge_strategy(const char *strategy, struct commit_list *common,
 			exit(128);
 		if (write_locked_index(&the_index, &lock,
 				       COMMIT_LOCK | SKIP_IF_UNCHANGED))
-			die (_("unable to write %s"), get_index_file());
+			die(_("unable to write %s"), get_index_file());
 		return clean ? 0 : 1;
 	} else {
 		return try_merge_command(strategy, xopts_nr, xopts,