diff --git a/src/morphodict/search/runner.py b/src/morphodict/search/runner.py
index 57d351ad8..25cc6cbbe 100644
--- a/src/morphodict/search/runner.py
+++ b/src/morphodict/search/runner.py
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ def sort_by_cvd(r: Result):
     # If we did an english phrase search, we have to inflect back the results!
     if (search_query.espt or inflect_english_phrases) and (
         len(initial_query_terms) > 1
-    ):
+    ) and espt_search:
         espt_search.inflect_search_results()
 
     # Annotate every entry in search results with the POS match when that is available