diff --git a/go/ast/inspector/typeof.go b/go/ast/inspector/typeof.go
index 40b1bfd7e62..97784484578 100644
--- a/go/ast/inspector/typeof.go
+++ b/go/ast/inspector/typeof.go
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ func typeOf(n ast.Node) uint64 {
 
 //go:linkname maskOf
 func maskOf(nodes []ast.Node) uint64 {
-	if nodes == nil {
+	if len(nodes) == 0 {
 		return math.MaxUint64 // match all node types
 	}
 	var mask uint64