diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml
index 341fea524a..244694b07f 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml
@@ -277,8 +277,8 @@
 
    <para>
     The table also shows that PostgreSQL's Repeatable Read implementation
-    does not allow phantom reads.  Stricter behavior is permitted by the
-    SQL standard: the four isolation levels only define which phenomena
+    does not allow phantom reads.  The SQL standard allows more restrictive
+    behavior:  the four isolation levels only define which phenomena
     must not happen, not which phenomena <emphasis>must</emphasis> happen.
     The behavior of the available isolation levels is detailed in the
     following subsections.