Should I use make or makes in the following statement: Please explain why your experience and qualifications makes you the best candidate for this position To make for is an idiom with several different meanings. In the context of this question, the approximate meaning is 'to produce', 'to represent' or 'to constitute': Raw earthworms make for grim eating = Raw earthworms represent an unpleasant kind of food Dobermans make for great guard dogs = Dobermans have the qualities needed to make them great guard dogs Sowing camomile in your lawn makes ... The phrase makes for has a more specific meaning that the word makes and in this context limits its definition to the following: to help maintain or promote; further