diff --git a/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py b/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py
index 3b8de130..5477e533 100644
--- a/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py
+++ b/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py
@@ -1328,7 +1328,7 @@ def __resolve_dtype_helper__(cls, dtype):
         elif isinstance(dtype, list):
             return np.dtype([(x["name"], cls.__resolve_dtype_helper__(x["dtype"])) for x in dtype])
         else:
-            raise ValueError(f"Cant resolve dtype {dtype}")
+            raise ValueError(f"Can't resolve dtype {dtype}")
 
     @classmethod
     def get_type(cls, data):