diff --git a/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el b/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el
index 2f8a260bf1..17ee4357e8 100644
--- a/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el
+++ b/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el
@@ -583,11 +583,11 @@ gnus-subscribe-randomly
 
 (defun gnus-subscribe-alphabetically (newgroup)
   "Subscribe new NEWGROUP and insert it in alphabetical order."
-  (let ((groups (cdr gnus-newsrc-alist))
+  (let ((groups (cdr gnus-group-list))
 	before)
     (while (and (not before) groups)
-      (if (string< newgroup (caar groups))
-	  (setq before (caar groups))
+      (if (string< newgroup (car groups))
+	  (setq before (car groups))
 	(setq groups (cdr groups))))
     (gnus-subscribe-newsgroup newgroup before)))