diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index b3f8dd8..4794193 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -19,11 +19,10 @@ Imports:
     cli (>= 3.4.0),
     rlang (>= 1.1.0)
 Suggests:
-    covr,
     knitr,
     lintr (>= 3.1.0),
     rmarkdown,
-    testthat (>= 3.0.1),
+    testthat (>= 3.2.1),
     tibble,
     tidyverse,
     tools,
diff --git a/R/deprecate.R b/R/deprecate.R
index bfe4e91..f17cf33 100644
--- a/R/deprecate.R
+++ b/R/deprecate.R
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ lifecycle_message <- function(
   msg <- lifecycle_message_what(what, when)
 
   if (!is_null(with)) {
-    with <- spec(with, NULL, signaller = signaller)
+    with <- spec(with, NULL, signaller = signaller, type = "with")
     msg <- c(msg, "i" = lifecycle_message_with(with, what))
   }
 
diff --git a/R/spec.R b/R/spec.R
index 2661824..0549eab 100644
--- a/R/spec.R
+++ b/R/spec.R
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ spec <- function(
   spec,
   env = caller_env(),
   signaller = "signal_lifecycle",
+  type = c("what", "with"),
   error_call = caller_env()
 ) {
   ctxt <- list(
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ spec <- function(
       from = signaller
     )
   } else {
-    what <- parse_what(spec, ctxt = ctxt)
+    what <- parse_what(spec, ctxt = ctxt, type = type)
 
     list(
       fn = spec_fn(what$call, ctxt = ctxt),
@@ -30,16 +31,16 @@ spec <- function(
   }
 }
 
-parse_what <- function(what, ctxt) {
+parse_what <- function(what, ctxt, type = c("what", "with")) {
   check_string(what, call = ctxt$call)
-
+  type <- arg_match(type)
   call <- parse_expr(what)
 
   if (!is_call(call)) {
     what <- as_string(what)
     cli::cli_abort(
       c(
-        "{.arg what} must have function call syntax.",
+        "{.arg {type}} must have function call syntax.",
         "",
         " " = "# Good:",
         " " = "{ ctxt$signaller }(\"{what}()\")",
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/deprecate.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/deprecate.md
index 500f99e..e597d98 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/deprecate.md
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/deprecate.md
@@ -206,3 +206,17 @@
       Error:
       ! `id` must be a single string, not the number 1.
 
+# deprecate_soft() mentions the correct argument (#152)
+
+    Code
+      deprecate_warn(when = "1.0.0", what = "foo()", with = "bar")
+    Condition
+      Error in `lifecycle_message()`:
+      ! `with` must have function call syntax.
+      
+        # Good:
+        deprecate_warn("bar()")
+      
+        # Bad:
+        deprecate_warn("bar")
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/helper-lifecycle.R b/tests/testthat/helper-lifecycle.R
index a62c8c7..24ced16 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/helper-lifecycle.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/helper-lifecycle.R
@@ -2,10 +2,6 @@ expect_lifecycle_defunct <- function(object, ...) {
   expect_error(object, class = "defunctError")
 }
 
-expect_no_warning <- function(...) {
-  expect_warning(regexp = NA, ...)
-}
-
 try2 <- function(expr) {
   cat(paste0("\n", as_label2(substitute(expr)), ":\n\n"))
   cat(catch_cnd(expr, classes = "error")$message, "\n\n")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-deprecate.R b/tests/testthat/test-deprecate.R
index aa9f6f1..3f852bf 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-deprecate.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-deprecate.R
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ test_that("default deprecations behave as expected", {
   expect_snapshot({
     (expect_warning(direct(), class = "lifecycle_warning_deprecated"))
   })
-  expect_warning(indirect(), NA)
-  expect_warning(indirect(), NA)
+  expect_no_warning(indirect())
+  expect_no_warning(indirect())
 
   expect_snapshot({
     (expect_defunct(deprecate_stop("1.0.0", "foo()")))
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ test_that("indirect usage recommends contacting authors", {
 test_that("quiet suppresses _soft and _warn", {
   local_options(lifecycle_verbosity = "quiet")
 
-  expect_warning(deprecate_soft("1.0.0", "foo()"), NA)
-  expect_warning(deprecate_warn("1.0.0", "foo()"), NA)
+  expect_no_warning(deprecate_soft("1.0.0", "foo()"))
+  expect_no_warning(deprecate_warn("1.0.0", "foo()"))
   expect_defunct(deprecate_stop("1.0.0", "foo()"))
 })
 
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ test_that("soft deprecation uses correct calling envs", {
 
   # Calling package function indirectly from global env shouldn't
   cnd <- catch_cnd(evalq(softly_softly(), global_env()), "warning")
-  expect_equal(cnd, NULL)
+  expect_null(cnd)
 })
 
 test_that("warning conditions are signaled only once if warnings are suppressed", {
@@ -266,3 +266,9 @@ test_that("needs_warning works as expected", {
   env_poke(deprecation_env, "test", TRUE)
   expect_false(needs_warning("test"))
 })
+
+test_that("deprecate_soft() mentions the correct argument (#152)", {
+  expect_snapshot(error = TRUE, {
+    deprecate_warn(when = "1.0.0", what = "foo()", with = "bar")
+  })
+})