diff --git a/lib/jekyll/tags/include.rb b/lib/jekyll/tags/include.rb
index 143555c8..c4dea149 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/tags/include.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/tags/include.rb
@@ -11,10 +11,11 @@ module Jekyll
       def initialize(tag_name, markup, tokens)
         super
         @file, @params = markup.strip.split(' ', 2);
+        validate_file_name
       end
 
       def parse_params(context)
-        validate_syntax
+        validate_params
 
         params = {}
         markup = @params
@@ -35,12 +36,6 @@ module Jekyll
         params
       end
 
-      # ensure the entire markup string from start to end is valid syntax, and params are separated by spaces
-      def validate_syntax
-        validate_file_name
-        validate_params
-      end
-
       def validate_file_name
         if @file !~ /^[a-zA-Z0-9_\/\.-]+$/ || @file =~ /\.\// || @file =~ /\/\./
             raise SyntaxError.new <<-eos