diff --git a/lisp/progmodes/grep.el b/lisp/progmodes/grep.el
index 96f449c2b05..1c29bfe9cc8 100644
--- a/lisp/progmodes/grep.el
+++ b/lisp/progmodes/grep.el
@@ -620,7 +620,9 @@ substitution string.  Note dynamic scoping of variables.")
 		      (cdr alias)))
 	       (and fn
 		    (let ((ext (file-name-extension fn)))
-		      (and ext (concat "*." ext))))))
+		      (and ext (concat "*." ext))))
+	       (car grep-files-history)
+	       (car (car grep-files-aliases))))
 	 (files (read-string
 		 (concat "Search for \"" regexp
 			 "\" in files"