diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta/help.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta/help.go
index f6e2f1a1f58..50468b5330d 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta/help.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta/help.go
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ var (
 func GetItemsPtr(list runtime.Object) (interface{}, error) {
 	obj, err := getItemsPtr(list)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%T is not a list: %v", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%T is not a list: %v", list, err)
 	}
 	return obj, nil
 }