In the following passage about childhood memories and fireflies, choose the correct verb form to complete the line “and made us ______ there is nothing that can blow those divine lights ...”.

Introduction / Context:
This cloze test item comes from a nostalgic passage describing winter nights, tiny flames of fire and a fair of fireflies. The sentence in focus is “... and made us ______ there is nothing that can blow those divine lights ...”. The examiner wants to test your knowledge of verb patterns, especially the structure “make somebody do something”. Understanding how causative verbs like “make” work is crucial in English grammar. By analysing the sentence structure and the typical usage after “made us”, you can accurately choose the correct word from the given options and avoid confusing verb forms with nouns or adverbs that look similar but function differently in a sentence.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The key fragment is: “made us ______ there is nothing that can blow those divine lights ...”. • Options: belief, believe, believably, beliefs. • The verb “made” is followed by the object “us”. • Standard English structures include “make somebody do something”, not “make somebody to do” in this context.

Concept / Approach:
The verb “make” when used as a causative verb normally follows the pattern “make + object + bare infinitive” (base form of the verb without “to”). For example, “The story made me cry” or “The news made them think”. In the question, “made us” is the subject and object, and we need the bare infinitive of a verb expressing the mental act that follows. Among the choices, “believe” is the base verb form, “belief” and “beliefs” are nouns, and “believably” is an adverb. Only “believe” fits the required pattern and meaning: the magical scene “made us believe there is nothing that can blow those divine lights ...”. This expresses the idea that the experience caused a strong, almost childlike faith in the permanence of the lights.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Identify the structure: “made us ______ there is nothing ...”. 2. Recall the causative verb pattern: “make + object + bare infinitive” (for example, “made us think”). 3. Classify options: “belief” (noun), “believe” (verb), “believably” (adverb), “beliefs” (plural noun). 4. Insert each option into the sentence: “made us belief”, “made us believe”, “made us believably”, “made us beliefs”. 5. Recognise that only “made us believe there is nothing ...” is grammatically correct and semantically meaningful.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, read the full sentence mentally: “For me the darkness and the chill of those nights dissolved into those little flames of fire that for hours made us live in a wonderland, in a magnificent fair of fireflies, and made us believe there is nothing that can blow those divine lights off.” The phrase “made us believe” clearly expresses an emotional conclusion and maintains smooth, natural English. Trying the other options reveals immediate errors. “Made us belief” is wrong because “belief” is a noun, not a verb. “Made us believably” is ungrammatical because an adverb cannot fill this slot. “Made us beliefs” is also incorrect because it attempts to use a plural noun where a verb is required. This confirms “believe” as the only correct choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
• “belief” is a noun (for example, “a strong belief”), and cannot directly follow “made us” to introduce a clause. • “believably” is an adverb and does not fit the structure “made us ______ there is nothing ...”. • “beliefs” is a plural noun, again unsuitable after “made us” when we need a verb to introduce a clause.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse “believe” (verb) and “belief” (noun), especially in cloze tests where the surrounding words may not be fully shown. Another pitfall is ignoring the causative verb pattern and simply choosing the word that seems most sophisticated. Always check which part of speech is needed. When a verb like “make” is followed by a pronoun such as “us”, it is very likely that a bare infinitive verb will come next. Keeping these structures in mind will help you avoid errors in similar questions.

Final Answer:
The correct word to complete the blank is believe, giving the natural expression “and made us believe there is nothing that can blow those divine lights ...”.