diff --git a/crates/pawarser/src/parser.rs b/crates/pawarser/src/parser.rs
index 3782f0f..c592cdb 100644
--- a/crates/pawarser/src/parser.rs
+++ b/crates/pawarser/src/parser.rs
@@ -120,6 +120,9 @@ impl<'src, 'toks, SyntaxKind: SyntaxElement, SyntaxErr: SyntaxError>
         let mut errors: Vec<SyntaxErr> = Vec::new();
         raw_toks.reverse();
 
+        // always have an implicit root node to avoid [`GreenNodeBuilder::finish()`] panicking due to multiple root elements.
+        builder.start_node(SyntaxKind::SYNTAX_ROOT.into());
+
         for i in 0..events.len() {
             match mem::replace(&mut events[i], Event::tombstone()) {
                 Event::Start {
@@ -185,6 +188,9 @@ impl<'src, 'toks, SyntaxKind: SyntaxElement, SyntaxErr: SyntaxError>
             }
         }
 
+        // finish SYNTAX_ROOT
+        builder.finish_node();
+
         ParserOutput {
             green_node: builder.finish(),
             errors,