diff --git a/src/services/documentHighlights.ts b/src/services/documentHighlights.ts
index 6d3094fc190..8d48d526a4b 100644
--- a/src/services/documentHighlights.ts
+++ b/src/services/documentHighlights.ts
@@ -30,11 +30,7 @@ namespace ts.DocumentHighlights {
 
     function getSyntacticDocumentHighlights(node: Node, sourceFile: SourceFile): DocumentHighlights[] {
         const highlightSpans = getHighlightSpans(node, sourceFile);
-        if (!highlightSpans || highlightSpans.length === 0) {
-            return undefined;
-        }
-
-        return [{ fileName: sourceFile.fileName, highlightSpans }];
+        return highlightSpans && [{ fileName: sourceFile.fileName, highlightSpans }];
     }
 
     function getHighlightSpans(node: Node, sourceFile: SourceFile): HighlightSpan[] | undefined {