diff --git a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
index 7ce8a071ad..4314d771fb 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
@@ -2804,7 +2804,7 @@
 //
 // Many commands apply to a set of packages:
 //
-//	go action [packages]
+//	go <action> [packages]
 //
 // Usually, [packages] is a list of import paths.
 //
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go
index 199d8af1b4..cf932136b3 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ var HelpPackages = &base.Command{
 	Long: `
 Many commands apply to a set of packages:
 
-	go action [packages]
+	go <action> [packages]
 
 Usually, [packages] is a list of import paths.