./configure returns errors

When I use the ./configure command from cygwin (for NT), it doesn't finish
and returns the following error when checking whether make sets ${MAKE}...:
eval: 1: Syntax error: Unterminated quoted string

I put various echo statements in the configure file for debugging. It
doesn't get past this line:
eval `${MAKE-make} -f conftestmake 2>/dev/null | grep temp=`

I echoed the above: eval `${MAKE-make} -f conftestmake 2>/dev/null | grep
temp=` and it returned the following:
ac_maketemp=\make"

Is that the unterminated quote string? I can't find where it is set. Seems
like all quotes have a closing quote for each open quote. Can somebody help
me?

Thanks.

Joyce