Learn French: Ce sur quoi les fans se basent, c'est ce scénario.

Ce sur quoi les fans se basent, c'est ce scénario.

What the fans rely on is this script.

Breakdown of Ce sur quoi les fans se basent, c'est ce scénario.

this (before a noun)

him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Ce sur quoi les fans se basent, c'est ce scénario.

Why do we use ce sur quoi here instead of just ce que?

The verb in this sentence is se baser sur (to base oneself on). When the English word "what" acts as the object of a preposition like sur, French uses the structure ce + preposition + quoi. Literally, it translates to "that on which".

Why is there a c' in c'est? Can we just say "Ce sur quoi les fans se basent est ce scénario"?

While you might be understood without it, French strongly prefers adding c' (meaning "it" or "that") to sum up a long introductory clause. When a sentence starts with a ce... phrase acting as the main subject, you almost always use c'est instead of just est to introduce the second half.

Why is the verb baser reflexive (se basent) here?

The verb se baser sur literally means "to base oneself on". In French, you cannot simply base an opinion on something without a direct object; the fans are grounding themselves or their own theories, which requires the reflexive pronoun se.

Both the beginning and the end of the sentence use ce. Do they mean the same thing?