diff --git a/wp-includes/functions.php b/wp-includes/functions.php
index 1056953998..56f4c62379 100644
--- a/wp-includes/functions.php
+++ b/wp-includes/functions.php
@@ -2931,7 +2931,7 @@ function wp_clone( $object ) {
 	if ( !isset( $can_clone ) ) {
 		$can_clone = version_compare( phpversion(), '5.0', '>=' );
 	}
-	return $can_clone ? clone $object : $object;
+	return $can_clone ? clone( $object ) : $object;
 }