diff --git a/gst/gstsegment.c b/gst/gstsegment.c
index c1527c0f00..5b10a913d8 100644
--- a/gst/gstsegment.c
+++ b/gst/gstsegment.c
@@ -555,12 +555,12 @@ gst_segment_to_stream_time (GstSegment * segment, GstFormat format,
   gint64 result, start, stop, time;
   gdouble abs_applied_rate;
 
-  g_return_val_if_fail (segment != NULL, -1);
-
   /* format does not matter for -1 */
   if (G_UNLIKELY (position == -1))
     return -1;
 
+  g_return_val_if_fail (segment != NULL, -1);
+
   if (G_UNLIKELY (segment->format == GST_FORMAT_UNDEFINED))
     segment->format = format;
 
@@ -641,11 +641,11 @@ gst_segment_to_running_time (GstSegment * segment, GstFormat format,
   gint64 result;
   gint64 start, stop, accum;
 
-  g_return_val_if_fail (segment != NULL, -1);
-
   if (G_UNLIKELY (position == -1))
     return -1;
 
+  g_return_val_if_fail (segment != NULL, -1);
+
   if (G_UNLIKELY (segment->format == GST_FORMAT_UNDEFINED))
     segment->format = format;