diff --git a/app/lib/search_query_transformer.rb b/app/lib/search_query_transformer.rb
index 6a299f59d8..e07ebfffed 100644
--- a/app/lib/search_query_transformer.rb
+++ b/app/lib/search_query_transformer.rb
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class SearchQueryTransformer < Parslet::Transform
     elsif clause[:shortcode]
       TermClause.new(prefix, operator, ":#{clause[:term]}:")
     elsif clause[:phrase]
-      PhraseClause.new(prefix, operator, clause[:phrase].map { |p| p[:term].to_s }.join(' '))
+      PhraseClause.new(prefix, operator, clause[:phrase].is_a?(Array) ? clause[:phrase].map { |p| p[:term].to_s }.join(' ') : clause[:phrase].to_s)
     else
       raise "Unexpected clause type: #{clause}"
     end