diff --git a/t/lib-submodule-update.sh b/t/lib-submodule-update.sh
index 7c3ba1be00..988d85bd7d 100755
--- a/t/lib-submodule-update.sh
+++ b/t/lib-submodule-update.sh
@@ -310,7 +310,20 @@ test_submodule_content () {
 # Internal function; use test_submodule_switch_func(), test_submodule_switch(),
 # or test_submodule_forced_switch() instead.
 test_submodule_switch_common () {
-	command="$1"
+	command="$1" # should be a git command
+	before="$2"
+	after="$3"
+
+	if test -z "$before"
+	then
+		before=true
+	fi
+
+	if test -z "$after"
+	then
+		after=true
+	fi
+
 	######################### Appearing submodule #########################
 	# Switching to a commit letting a submodule appear creates empty dir ...
 	if test "$KNOWN_FAILURE_STASH_DOES_IGNORE_SUBMODULE_CHANGES" = 1
@@ -326,7 +339,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t add_sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
-			$command add_sub1 &&
+			arg=add_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_dir_is_empty sub1 &&
 			git submodule update --init --recursive &&
@@ -341,7 +357,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			mkdir sub1 &&
 			git branch -t add_sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
-			$command add_sub1 &&
+			arg=add_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_dir_is_empty sub1 &&
 			git submodule update --init --recursive &&
@@ -356,7 +375,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t replace_file_with_sub1 origin/replace_file_with_sub1 &&
-			$command replace_file_with_sub1 &&
+			arg=replace_file_with_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/replace_file_with_sub1 &&
 			test_dir_is_empty sub1 &&
 			git submodule update --init --recursive &&
@@ -380,7 +402,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t replace_directory_with_sub1 origin/replace_directory_with_sub1 &&
-			$command replace_directory_with_sub1 &&
+			arg=replace_directory_with_sub1  &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/replace_directory_with_sub1 &&
 			test_dir_is_empty sub1 &&
 			git submodule update --init --recursive &&
@@ -402,7 +427,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t remove_sub1 origin/remove_sub1 &&
-			$command remove_sub1 &&
+			arg=remove_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/remove_sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1
 		)
@@ -415,7 +443,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t remove_sub1 origin/remove_sub1 &&
 			replace_gitfile_with_git_dir sub1 &&
-			$command remove_sub1 &&
+			arg=remove_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/remove_sub1 &&
 			test_git_directory_is_unchanged sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1
@@ -443,7 +474,9 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t replace_sub1_with_directory origin/replace_sub1_with_directory &&
-			test_must_fail $command replace_sub1_with_directory &&
+			arg=replace_sub1_with_directory &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval test_must_fail $command &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1
 		)
@@ -456,7 +489,9 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t replace_sub1_with_directory origin/replace_sub1_with_directory &&
 			replace_gitfile_with_git_dir sub1 &&
-			test_must_fail $command replace_sub1_with_directory &&
+			arg=replace_sub1_with_directory &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval test_must_fail $command &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_git_directory_is_unchanged sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1
@@ -470,7 +505,9 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t replace_sub1_with_file origin/replace_sub1_with_file &&
-			test_must_fail $command replace_sub1_with_file &&
+			arg=replace_sub1_with_file &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval test_must_fail $command &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1
 		)
@@ -484,7 +521,9 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t replace_sub1_with_file origin/replace_sub1_with_file &&
 			replace_gitfile_with_git_dir sub1 &&
-			test_must_fail $command replace_sub1_with_file &&
+			arg=replace_sub1_with_file &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval test_must_fail $command &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_git_directory_is_unchanged sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1
@@ -508,7 +547,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t modify_sub1 origin/modify_sub1 &&
-			$command modify_sub1 &&
+			arg=modify_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/modify_sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
 			git submodule update &&
@@ -523,7 +565,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t invalid_sub1 origin/invalid_sub1 &&
-			$command invalid_sub1 &&
+			arg=invalid_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/invalid_sub1 &&
 			test_submodule_content sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_must_fail git submodule update &&
@@ -538,7 +583,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t valid_sub1 origin/valid_sub1 &&
-			$command valid_sub1 &&
+			arg=valid_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval $command &&
+			$after "$arg" &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/valid_sub1 &&
 			test_dir_is_empty sub1 &&
 			git submodule update --init --recursive &&
@@ -568,8 +616,10 @@ test_submodule_switch_common () {
 # }
 # test_submodule_switch_func "my_func"
 test_submodule_switch_func () {
-	command="$1"
-	test_submodule_switch_common "$command"
+	command="git $1"
+	before="$2"
+	after="$3"
+	test_submodule_switch_common "$command" "$before" "$after"
 
 	# An empty directory does not prevent the creation of a submodule of
 	# the same name, but a file does.
@@ -580,7 +630,9 @@ test_submodule_switch_func () {
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t add_sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
 			>sub1 &&
-			test_must_fail $command add_sub1 &&
+			arg=add_sub1 &&
+			$before "$arg" &&
+			eval test_must_fail $command &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/no_submodule &&
 			test_must_be_empty sub1
 		)
@@ -588,15 +640,15 @@ test_submodule_switch_func () {
 }
 
 test_submodule_switch () {
-	test_submodule_switch_func "git $1"
+	test_submodule_switch_func "$1 \$arg"
 }
 
 # Same as test_submodule_switch(), except that throwing away local changes in
 # the superproject is allowed.
 test_submodule_forced_switch () {
-	command="$1"
+	command="git $1 \$arg"
 	KNOWN_FAILURE_FORCED_SWITCH_TESTS=1
-	test_submodule_switch_common "git $command"
+	test_submodule_switch_common "$command"
 
 	# When forced, a file in the superproject does not prevent creating a
 	# submodule of the same name.
@@ -607,7 +659,8 @@ test_submodule_forced_switch () {
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t add_sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
 			>sub1 &&
-			$command add_sub1 &&
+			arg=add_sub1 &&
+			eval $command &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
 			test_dir_is_empty sub1
 		)
diff --git a/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh b/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh
index 788605ccc0..d31e6487bd 100755
--- a/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh
@@ -16,11 +16,10 @@ git_rebase () {
 	git revert HEAD &&
 	git status -su >actual &&
 	ls -1pR * >>actual &&
-	test_cmp expect actual &&
-	git rebase "$1"
+	test_cmp expect actual
 }
 
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_rebase"
+test_submodule_switch_func "rebase \$arg" "git_rebase"
 
 git_rebase_interactive () {
 	git status -su >expect &&
@@ -34,11 +33,10 @@ git_rebase_interactive () {
 	ls -1pR * >>actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual &&
 	set_fake_editor &&
-	echo "fake-editor.sh" >.git/info/exclude &&
-	git rebase -i "$1"
+	echo "fake-editor.sh" >.git/info/exclude
 }
 
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_rebase_interactive"
+test_submodule_switch_func "rebase -i \$arg" "git_rebase_interactive"
 
 test_expect_success 'rebase interactive ignores modified submodules' '
 	test_when_finished "rm -rf super sub" &&
diff --git a/t/t3513-revert-submodule.sh b/t/t3513-revert-submodule.sh
index 95a7f64471..994cdc40f0 100755
--- a/t/t3513-revert-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t3513-revert-submodule.sh
@@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ test_description='revert can handle submodules'
 # first so we can restore the work tree test setup after doing the checkout
 # and revert.  We test here that the restored work tree content is identical
 # to that at the beginning. The last revert is then tested by the framework.
-git_revert () {
+git_revert_before () {
 	git status -su >expect &&
 	ls -1pR * >>expect &&
-	tar cf "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/tmp.tar" * &&
-	git checkout "$1" &&
+	tar cf "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/tmp.tar" *
+}
+
+git_revert_after () {
 	git revert HEAD &&
 	rm -rf * &&
 	tar xf "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/tmp.tar" &&
@@ -26,6 +28,6 @@ git_revert () {
 }
 
 KNOWN_FAILURE_NOFF_MERGE_DOESNT_CREATE_EMPTY_SUBMODULE_DIR=1
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_revert"
+test_submodule_switch_func "checkout \$arg" "git_revert_before" "git_revert_after"
 
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t3906-stash-submodule.sh b/t/t3906-stash-submodule.sh
index 6a7e801ca0..358a625124 100755
--- a/t/t3906-stash-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t3906-stash-submodule.sh
@@ -5,10 +5,12 @@ test_description='stash can handle submodules'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-submodule-update.sh
 
-git_stash () {
+git_stash_before () {
 	git status -su >expect &&
-	ls -1pR * >>expect &&
-	git read-tree -u -m "$1" &&
+	ls -1pR * >>expect
+}
+
+git_stash_after () {
 	git stash &&
 	git status -su >actual &&
 	ls -1pR * >>actual &&
@@ -19,7 +21,7 @@ git_stash () {
 KNOWN_FAILURE_STASH_DOES_IGNORE_SUBMODULE_CHANGES=1
 KNOWN_FAILURE_CHERRY_PICK_SEES_EMPTY_COMMIT=1
 KNOWN_FAILURE_NOFF_MERGE_DOESNT_CREATE_EMPTY_SUBMODULE_DIR=1
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_stash"
+test_submodule_switch_func "read-tree -u -m \$arg" "git_stash_before" "git_stash_after"
 
 setup_basic () {
 	test_when_finished "rm -rf main sub" &&
diff --git a/t/t4137-apply-submodule.sh b/t/t4137-apply-submodule.sh
index b645e303a0..fe5ebeaa41 100755
--- a/t/t4137-apply-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t4137-apply-submodule.sh
@@ -5,16 +5,12 @@ test_description='git apply handling submodules'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-submodule-update.sh
 
-apply_index () {
-	git diff --ignore-submodules=dirty "..$1" | git apply --index -
+create_diff () {
+	git diff --ignore-submodules=dirty "..$1" >diff
 }
 
-test_submodule_switch_func "apply_index"
+test_submodule_switch_func "apply --index diff" "create_diff"
 
-apply_3way () {
-	git diff --ignore-submodules=dirty "..$1" | git apply --3way -
-}
-
-test_submodule_switch_func "apply_3way"
+test_submodule_switch_func "apply --3way diff" "create_diff"
 
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t4255-am-submodule.sh b/t/t4255-am-submodule.sh
index 1b179d5f45..5305280dfd 100755
--- a/t/t4255-am-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t4255-am-submodule.sh
@@ -5,18 +5,14 @@ test_description='git am handling submodules'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-submodule-update.sh
 
-am () {
-	git format-patch --stdout --ignore-submodules=dirty "..$1" | git am -
+create_patch () {
+	git format-patch --stdout --ignore-submodules=dirty "..$1" >patch
 }
 
-test_submodule_switch_func "am"
-
-am_3way () {
-	git format-patch --stdout --ignore-submodules=dirty "..$1" | git am --3way -
-}
+test_submodule_switch_func "am patch" "create_patch"
 
 KNOWN_FAILURE_NOFF_MERGE_ATTEMPTS_TO_MERGE_REMOVED_SUBMODULE_FILES=1
-test_submodule_switch_func "am_3way"
+test_submodule_switch_func "am --3way patch" "create_patch"
 
 test_expect_success 'setup diff.submodule' '
 	test_commit one &&
diff --git a/t/t5572-pull-submodule.sh b/t/t5572-pull-submodule.sh
index f911bf631e..3b37853537 100755
--- a/t/t5572-pull-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t5572-pull-submodule.sh
@@ -11,36 +11,16 @@ reset_branch_to_HEAD () {
 	git branch --set-upstream-to="origin/$1" "$1"
 }
 
-git_pull () {
-	reset_branch_to_HEAD "$1" &&
-	git pull
-}
-
 # pulls without conflicts
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_pull"
+test_submodule_switch_func "pull" "reset_branch_to_HEAD"
 
-git_pull_ff () {
-	reset_branch_to_HEAD "$1" &&
-	git pull --ff
-}
+test_submodule_switch_func "pull --ff" "reset_branch_to_HEAD"
 
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_pull_ff"
-
-git_pull_ff_only () {
-	reset_branch_to_HEAD "$1" &&
-	git pull --ff-only
-}
-
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_pull_ff_only"
-
-git_pull_noff () {
-	reset_branch_to_HEAD "$1" &&
-	git pull --no-ff
-}
+test_submodule_switch_func "pull --ff-only" "reset_branch_to_HEAD"
 
 KNOWN_FAILURE_NOFF_MERGE_DOESNT_CREATE_EMPTY_SUBMODULE_DIR=1
 KNOWN_FAILURE_NOFF_MERGE_ATTEMPTS_TO_MERGE_REMOVED_SUBMODULE_FILES=1
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_pull_noff"
+test_submodule_switch_func "pull --no-ff" "reset_branch_to_HEAD"
 
 test_expect_success 'pull --recurse-submodule setup' '
 	test_create_repo child &&
diff --git a/t/t6041-bisect-submodule.sh b/t/t6041-bisect-submodule.sh
index 0e0cdf638d..b99e81d55d 100755
--- a/t/t6041-bisect-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t6041-bisect-submodule.sh
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@ test_description='bisect can handle submodules'
 . ./test-lib.sh
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-submodule-update.sh
 
-git_bisect () {
+git_bisect_before () {
 	git status -su >expect &&
 	ls -1pR * >>expect &&
 	tar cf "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/tmp.tar" * &&
-	GOOD=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD) &&
-	git checkout "$1" &&
+	GOOD=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD)
+}
+
+git_bisect_after () {
 	echo "foo" >bar &&
 	git add bar &&
 	git commit -m "bisect bad" &&
@@ -27,6 +29,6 @@ git_bisect () {
 	git bisect bad $BAD
 }
 
-test_submodule_switch_func "git_bisect"
+test_submodule_switch_func "checkout \$arg" "git_bisect_before" "git_bisect_after"
 
 test_done
