diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Execute.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Execute.java
index 0ab729bc5..9b4f1bdae 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Execute.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Execute.java
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ public class Execute {
         }
 
         if (dir != null && !dir.exists()) {
-            throw new BuildException(dir + " doesn't exists.");
+            throw new BuildException(dir + " doesn't exist.");
         }
         return launcher.exec(project, command, env, dir);
     }