diff --git a/test/simple/test-child-process-spawn-typeerror.js b/test/simple/test-child-process-spawn-typeerror.js
index e28bd2a519a4..4a136db86c08 100644
--- a/test/simple/test-child-process-spawn-typeerror.js
+++ b/test/simple/test-child-process-spawn-typeerror.js
@@ -24,35 +24,86 @@ var child_process = require('child_process');
 var spawn = child_process.spawn;
 var fork = child_process.fork;
 var execFile = child_process.execFile;
-var cmd = (process.platform === 'win32') ? 'dir' : 'ls';
+var cmd = (process.platform === 'win32') ? 'rundll32' : 'ls';
 var empty = require('../common').fixturesDir + '/empty.js';
 
+// Argument types for combinatorics
+var a=[], o={}, c=(function callback(){}), s='string', u=undefined, n=null;
 
-// verify that args argument must be an array
-assert.throws(function() {
-  spawn(cmd, 'this is not an array');
-}, TypeError);
+// function spawn(file=f [,args=a] [, options=o]) has valid combinations:
+//   (f)
+//   (f, a)
+//   (f, a, o)
+//   (f, o)
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { spawn(cmd); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { spawn(cmd, a); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { spawn(cmd, a, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { spawn(cmd, o); });
 
-// verify that args argument is optional
-assert.doesNotThrow(function() {
-  spawn(cmd, {});
-});
+// Variants of undefined as explicit 'no argument' at a position
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, u, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, a, u); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, n, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, a, n); });
+
+assert.throws(function() { spawn(cmd, s); }, TypeError);
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { spawn(cmd, a, s); }, TypeError);
 
 
 // verify that execFile has same argument parsing behaviour as spawn
-assert.throws(function() {
-  execFile(cmd, 'this is not an array');
-}, TypeError);
+//
+// function execFile(file=f [,args=a] [, options=o] [, callback=c]) has valid
+// combinations:
+//   (f)
+//   (f, a)
+//   (f, a, o)
+//   (f, a, o, c)
+//   (f, a, c)
+//   (f, o)
+//   (f, o, c)
+//   (f, c)
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, o, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, o, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, c); });
+
+// Variants of undefined as explicit 'no argument' at a position
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, u, o, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, u, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, o, u); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, n, o, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, n, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, o, n); });
+
+// string is invalid in arg position (this may seem strange, but is
+// consistent across node API, cf. `net.createServer('not options', 'not
+// callback')`
+assert.throws(function() { execFile(cmd, s, o, c); }, TypeError);
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, s, c); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(cmd, a, o, s); });
 
-assert.doesNotThrow(function() {
-  execFile(cmd, {});
-});
 
 // verify that fork has same argument parsing behaviour as spawn
-assert.throws(function() {
-  fork(empty, 'this is not an array');
-}, TypeError);
+//
+// function fork(file=f [,args=a] [, options=o]) has valid combinations:
+//   (f)
+//   (f, a)
+//   (f, a, o)
+//   (f, o)
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { fork(empty); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { fork(empty, a); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { fork(empty, a, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { fork(empty, o); });
+
+// Variants of undefined as explicit 'no argument' at a position
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, u, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, a, u); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, n, o); });
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { execFile(empty, a, n); });
 
-assert.doesNotThrow(function() {
-  execFile(empty, {});
-});
+assert.throws(function() { fork(empty, s); }, TypeError);
+assert.doesNotThrow(function() { fork(empty, a, s); }, TypeError);