Breakdown of Nous voulons déterminer précisément ce que fait le virus.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
faire
to do, to make
vouloir
to want
ce que
what (object)
Questions & Answers about Nous voulons déterminer précisément ce que fait le virus.
Why do we use ce que instead of ce qui here?
Why is the verb fait placed before its subject le virus?
When the subject after ce que is a noun (like le virus) rather than a pronoun (like il), French speakers frequently invert the verb and the subject. While ce que le virus fait is grammatically correct, ce que fait le virus sounds much more natural and is highly preferred in both written and spoken French.
Could I use quoi instead of ce que to mean "what" in this sentence?
No. Although quoi means "what" in standalone direct questions, you cannot use it to link clauses in an indirect question. When "what" connects two parts of a sentence like this, you must use the relative pronouns ce que or ce qui.
Why does the adverb précisément come right after déterminer?