Is "I will never know what makes the rain to fall?" correct?

Question

I'll never know what makes the rain to fall.

I have read a post about make something to+verb /make something+verb?

The answers shows the above sentence is correct, but when I paste it to a grammar checker website, it prompts to delete the infinite "to". So it becomes the following:

I'll never know what makes the rain fall.

The construction with to was once common, but is now archaic. — Peter, Oct 12 '21 at 04:10
One thing to understand about English is that there are often grammatically correct ways to say something, which just aren't the way a native speaker would normally say them - unless trying to be poetic or something. — jamesqf, Oct 12 '21 at 16:07
''I'll never know what makes the rain fall'' is completely correct but rather poetic, it could almost be the title of a short story by Ray Bradbury. — Hollis Williams, Oct 12 '21 at 20:24
I would consider "make the rain to fall" rather "poetical. Is this from a song? — user247327, Oct 12 '21 at 21:01
It's perfectly valid, but very poetic. Nobody would say this in everyday conversation, but if the piece you're working on is particularly artistic/longing/wistful, this could be beautifully appropriate. — neph, Oct 12 '21 at 21:36
OP, your edit to the title introduces an inaccuracy that is relevant to answering your question: *to* is added for purposes of meter, and "I'll" and "I will" are not interchangeable. — chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic-, Oct 13 '21 at 15:30
Even ''I'll never know what makes the rain fall'' without the ''to'' sounds very literary to me. — Hollis Williams, Oct 19 '21 at 21:16

score 30 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 12 '21 at 05:01

30

The usual construction with "make" has the bare infinitive "makes the rain fall".

The construction with a "to" infinitive is old fashioned and now seems a little poetic. It is used, for example, in the long poem "the rime of the ancient mariner"

For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.

In modern English, you would not use "to".

I'll never know what makes the rain fall.

answered Oct 12 '21 at 05:01

James K

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Note that the poem was actually old-fashioned even when it was written 200 years ago. The poet is creating the effect of an "ancient" sailor telling a story, and this sailor uses patterns of speech that were already dated. – James K Oct 12 '21 at 05:26
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The quoted line seems to have been constructed to scan as iambic pentameter. – Phil Freedenberg Oct 12 '21 at 12:31
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Precisely what @Phil said: The "to" is needed for meter. – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic- Oct 12 '21 at 16:03
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Not sure there are any pentameters here, but I think that the second verse is an iambic trimeter (three feet). – gosbi Oct 12 '21 at 19:29
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Hey, spoiler alert! – Chris Bouchard Oct 13 '21 at 01:00

score 14 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 12 '21 at 14:22

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As James K says, you would not normally use "makes ... to ...".

However, without changing the meaning you could say "I'll never know what causes the rain to fall." Following "causes", the "to" is necessary.

answered Oct 12 '21 at 14:22

Especially Lime

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score -3 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 12 '21 at 21:03

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Pretty sure I've seen constructions like "maketh the mountains to tremble" in the Bible. The proper KJV one, I mean.

answered Oct 12 '21 at 21:03

Bloke Down The Pub

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Proper as opposed to....? – Boluc Papuccuoglu Oct 13 '21 at 11:50
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So you recommend replacing "makes" with "maketh"? Or, in general, writing in the style of the KJV Bible? – David K Oct 13 '21 at 13:09
Does "proper" include including [the johannine clause](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannine_Comma)? – user21820 Oct 13 '21 at 20:06
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It's a typo. He meant propper, as in something to prop up a short table leg. – João Mendes Oct 14 '21 at 12:57

Is "I will never know what makes the rain to fall?" correct?

3 Answers3