diff --git a/spec/app/edit-session-spec.coffee b/spec/app/edit-session-spec.coffee
index 327f6ab76..c77ddd15c 100644
--- a/spec/app/edit-session-spec.coffee
+++ b/spec/app/edit-session-spec.coffee
@@ -570,11 +570,16 @@ describe "EditSession", ->
           expect(editSession.getSelectedText()).toBe 'quicksort'
 
       describe "when the cursor is between two words", ->
-        it "selects the nearest word", ->
+        it "selects the word the cursor is on", ->
           editSession.setCursorScreenPosition([0, 4])
           editSession.selectWord()
           expect(editSession.getSelectedText()).toBe 'quicksort'
 
+          editSession.setCursorScreenPosition([0, 3])
+          editSession.selectWord()
+          expect(editSession.getSelectedText()).toBe 'var'
+
+
       describe "when the cursor is inside a region of whitespace", ->
         it "selects the whitespace region", ->
           editSession.setCursorScreenPosition([5, 2])
diff --git a/src/app/cursor.coffee b/src/app/cursor.coffee
index 659e91e43..8ac44739e 100644
--- a/src/app/cursor.coffee
+++ b/src/app/cursor.coffee
@@ -173,10 +173,9 @@ class Cursor
 
     endOfWordPosition = null
     @editSession.scanInRange (options.wordRegex ? @wordRegExp()), range, (match, matchRange, { stop }) =>
-      endOfWordPosition = matchRange.end
-      if matchRange.start.isGreaterThan(currentBufferPosition) and not allowNext
-        endOfWordPosition = currentBufferPosition
-      if not endOfWordPosition.isEqual(currentBufferPosition)
+      if matchRange.start.isLessThanOrEqual(currentBufferPosition) or allowNext
+        endOfWordPosition = matchRange.end
+      if not endOfWordPosition?.isEqual(currentBufferPosition)
         stop()
 
     endOfWordPosition or currentBufferPosition