makefile has a very stupid relation with tabs , all actions of every rule are identified by tabs ...... and No 4 spaces dont make a tab , only a tab makes a tab...
to check i use the command cat -e -t -v makefile_name
it shows the presence of tabs with ^I and line endings with $ both are vital to ensure that dependencies end properly and tabs mark the action for the rules so that they are easily identifiable to the make utility.....
example :
Kaizen ~/so_test $ cat -e -t -v mk.t
all:ll$ ## here the $ is end of line ...
$
ll:ll.c $
^Igcc -c -Wall -Werror -02 c.c ll.c -o ll $@ $<$
## the ^I above means a tab was there before the action part, so this lines ok .
$
clean :$
\rm -fr ll$
## see here there is no ^I which means , tab is not present ....
## in this case you need to open the file again and edit/ensure a tab
## starts the action part
hope this helps !!