diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index accf677e25e421c6aed138caf4d715c13ffd5366..7c89e96edf2f8183f53c576d60a08f3656e0efc5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 # GNUmakefile won't exist yet, so we catch that case as well.
 
 
-all check install installdirs installcheck installcheck-parallel uninstall clean distclean maintainer-clean:
+%:
 	@if [ ! -f GNUmakefile ] ; then \
 	   echo "You need to run the 'configure' program first. See the file"; \
 	   echo "'INSTALL' for installation instructions." ; \