What a decision comes down to

The idea

In neutral spoken and written English, put a noun, object pronoun or question clause after come down to: come down to cost, come down to it, or come down to whether we agree. The expression is inseparable.

Examples

• The choice comes down to cost.
• Our picnic came down to the weather.
• For Maya, the decision came down to whether she could work remotely.
• In the end, the match came down to one penalty.
• The success of the project may come down to how well the teams communicate.
• We discussed several routes, but it came down to this: which one was safest?

Watch out

Do not say come cost down to or come it down to. This expression describes a deciding factor, not a physical movement downward.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the correct option. The final choice comes down ___ price. (to / for)

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   to

   to introduces the deciding factor, price.

2. Choose the correct option. Yesterday, the result ___ down to one vote. (came / comes)

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   came

   came places the result in the past, matching yesterday.

3. Choose the correct option. It comes down to ___. (them / they)

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   them

   them is the object form after the preposition.

4. Choose the correct option. The question comes down to ___ we have enough time. (whether / that)

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   whether

   whether introduces the question of having enough time.

Use it today

Think of a recent decision and say what it came down to.