Addition of 1-naphthol, 2-naphthol or 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde to tert-butyl propiolate in the presence of triphenylphosphine leads to tert-butyl 2-arylacrylates and tert-butyl 3-aryloxypropenoates in nearly 1:1 ratio. When phenol, 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde, 8-hydroxyquinoline or 7-hydroxycoumarin was employed as OH-acid, only alkyl 3-aryloxypropenoates were obtained.