diff --git a/guides/source/active_record_validations.md b/guides/source/active_record_validations.md
index 2e2f0e4ea9a0e9981cd6a21f3666947d994e2894..25a0f86ae3f445a6095cc8bf3b6c738b21d5b441 100644
--- a/guides/source/active_record_validations.md
+++ b/guides/source/active_record_validations.md
@@ -503,8 +503,8 @@ end
 ```
 
 If you want to be sure that an association is present, you'll need to test
-whether the foreign key used to map the association is present, and not the
-associated object itself.
+whether the associated object itself is present, and not the foreign key used
+to map the association.
 
 ```ruby
 class LineItem < ActiveRecord::Base