diff --git a/Makefile.pre.in b/Makefile.pre.in
index 4772ff0981d..90b697e3b56 100644
--- a/Makefile.pre.in
+++ b/Makefile.pre.in
@@ -719,10 +719,8 @@ libinstall:	$(BUILDPYTHON) $(srcdir)/Lib/$(PLATDIR)
 	do \
 		a=$(srcdir)/Lib/$$d; \
 		if test ! -d $$a; then continue; else true; fi; \
+		if test `ls $$a | wc -l` -lt 1; then continue; fi; \
 		b=$(LIBDEST)/$$d; \
-		if [ `ls $$a | wc -l` -lt 1 ]; then \
-			continue; \
-		fi; \
 		for i in $$a/*; \
 		do \
 			case $$i in \