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Tu devrais lire ce sur quoi se base l'histoire.

Tu devrais lire ce sur quoi se base l'histoire.
You should read what the story is based on.
From Lesson 251:Indefinite relative pronouns (ce à quoi, ce sur quoi)·French

Questions & Answers about Tu devrais lire ce sur quoi se base l'histoire.

Why do we use ce sur quoi instead of just ce que for "what"?
The verb used here is se baser sur (to be based on). Because there is a preposition (sur), you cannot use ce que. Instead, the preposition must come before the pronoun. For an indefinite "what" (meaning "the thing that"), the pattern is ce + preposition + quoi.
In English, "on" is at the end of the sentence. Why does sur come in the middle in French?
French grammar does not allow ending a sentence or clause with a preposition. A preposition must always be placed directly before the pronoun it connects to. So "what the story is based on" becomes "that upon which the story bases itself" (ce sur quoi...).
Why is the subject l'histoire placed after the verb se base?
In French relative clauses, especially those starting with a preposition and a relative pronoun (like ce sur quoi), it is very common and sounds elegant to invert the subject and verb. You could also perfectly say ce sur quoi l'histoire se base, but the inverted word order often flows better in French.
Why is it Tu devrais instead of Tu dois?
Devrais is the conditional tense of devoir (to have to / must). While Tu dois means "You must" (a strict obligation), using the conditional softens it to "You should" (a recommendation or piece of advice).

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