diff --git a/t/t5700-clone-reference.sh b/t/t5700-clone-reference.sh
index dfa1bf79c5..4320082b1b 100755
--- a/t/t5700-clone-reference.sh
+++ b/t/t5700-clone-reference.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 test_description='test clone --reference'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
-base_dir=`pwd`
+base_dir=$(pwd)
 
 U=$base_dir/UPLOAD_LOG