diff --git a/core/List.carp b/core/List.carp
index f50df7a7..11401990 100644
--- a/core/List.carp
+++ b/core/List.carp
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ elements is uneven, the trailing element will be discarded.")
     (defndynamic pairs [l]
       (if (< (length l) 2)
         '()
-        (cons `(%(car l) %(cadr l)) (List.pairs (cddr l)))))
+        (cons (list (car l) (cadr l)) (List.pairs (cddr l)))))
 
     (doc nth "gets the nth element of the list `l`.")
     (defndynamic nth [l n]