Come down to means be decided by one main thing: our choice of venue comes down to accessibility, so access decides it. Often with in the end and all: it all came down to who could start first. Without to, the meaning changes: prices came down means they fell.
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a choice comes down to + factor / question clause
- Our choice of venue comes down to accessibility.
- In the end, it came down to who could start first.
- The decision may come down to finding enough volunteers.
What changed
First versionIn the end, the decision comes down to find enough volunteers.
RevisionIn the end, the decision comes down to finding enough volunteers.
Need to find and want to find put a base verb after to, so comes down to find seems right. But to here is a preposition, and a verb after a preposition takes -ing: comes down to finding. Or simply use a noun: comes down to volunteers.
Depend on means the outcome is still open: it depends on the price. Come down to means one thing is left after all the thinking: in the end, it came down to price. Boil down to is very close, with a sense of 'once you strip away the details'.
Your turn
Complete the expression for the decisive factor: The final choice comes down ___ reliability.
Show the answer
to — The deciding factor is introduced by to: comes down to reliability. On comes from depend on, but it doesn't fit here.
Describe a choice between two options, flats, jobs or trips, and say what it came down to.
Both flats are spacious, so the decision comes down to the length of the commute.
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