diff --git a/lib/rake/testtask.rb b/lib/rake/testtask.rb
index 5cae95c5d..93e1ca260 100644
--- a/lib/rake/testtask.rb
+++ b/lib/rake/testtask.rb
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ def ruby_opts_string # :nodoc:
       opts = @ruby_opts.dup
       opts.unshift("-I\"#{lib_path}\"") unless @libs.empty?
       opts.unshift("-w") if @warning
+      opts.unshift('--verbose') if @verbose
       opts.join(" ")
     end