diff --git a/gcc/c-decl.c b/gcc/c-decl.c
index c12d6732d33..6055e3a844a 100644
--- a/gcc/c-decl.c
+++ b/gcc/c-decl.c
@@ -3597,7 +3597,7 @@ finish_decl (decl, init, asmspec_tree)
       /* We make an exception for inline functions, since it's
 	 normal for a local extern redeclaration of an inline function
 	 to have a copy of the top-level decl's DECL_INLINE.  */
-      if (DECL_INITIAL (decl) != 0)
+      if (DECL_INITIAL (decl) != 0 && DECL_INITIAL (decl) != error_mark_node)
 	{
 	  /* If this is a const variable, then preserve the
 	     initializer instead of discarding it so that we can optimize