It was recently reported that alkyl etherification of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) occurred by the reaction with some n-alkyl halides in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)-pyridine mixture. However, in the course of its more detailed investigation, it was revealed that this should be acetalization, not etherification. This paper presents results of an experimental study which demonstrate that in this case an acetalization reaction took place. The course of reaction has been monitored by **1**3C-NMR spectroscopy.