diff --git a/bin/pyenv-sh-activate b/bin/pyenv-sh-activate
index eaa6b75..8d98900 100755
--- a/bin/pyenv-sh-activate
+++ b/bin/pyenv-sh-activate
@@ -41,10 +41,14 @@ fi
 
 if [ "${#versions[@]}" -gt 1 ]; then
   echo "pyenv-virtualenv: cannot activate multiple versions at once: ${versions[@]}" 1>&2
+  echo "false"
   exit 1
 fi
 
-pyenv-virtualenv-prefix "${versions}" 1>/dev/null
+if ! pyenv-virtualenv-prefix "${versions}" 1>/dev/null; then
+  echo "false"
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 shell="$(basename "${PYENV_SHELL:-$SHELL}")"
 case "$shell" in
diff --git a/test/activate.bats b/test/activate.bats
index a6a65d0..44a8b15 100644
--- a/test/activate.bats
+++ b/test/activate.bats
@@ -137,13 +137,17 @@ EOS
 }
 
 @test "should fail if the version is not a virtualenv" {
-  stub pyenv-virtualenv-prefix "3.3.3 : false"
+  stub pyenv-virtualenv-prefix "3.3.3 : echo \"not a virtualenv\" 1>&2; false"
 
   run pyenv-sh-activate "3.3.3"
 
   unstub pyenv-virtualenv-prefix
 
   assert_failure
+  assert_output <<EOS
+not a virtualenv
+false
+EOS
 }
 
 @test "should fail if there are multiple versions" {
@@ -152,6 +156,7 @@ EOS
   assert_failure
   assert_output <<EOS
 pyenv-virtualenv: cannot activate multiple versions at once: venv venv27
+false
 EOS
 }