An online content creator who uses copyrighted songs without permission risks being demonetized (prohibited from including paid advertisements in cont...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

Sentence 1:

• An online content creator
  • who uses copyrighted songs without permission
• risks being demonetized
  • (prohibited from including paid advertisements in content).

Sentence 2:

• The best way to avoid demonetization
  • is to choose music from the public domain.

Sentence 3:

• Using one of these noncopyrighted songs
  • [?] a creator won't lose advertising revenue.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start with the first sentence:

• It tells us about a problem:
  • Content creators who use copyrighted music without permission
  • risk being demonetized (losing the ability to earn ad revenue).

The second sentence gives us the solution:

• Choose music from the public domain instead.

Now the third sentence drives home why this solution works:

• 'Using one of these noncopyrighted songs...'

This is where we have the blank. Let's look at our choices:

• We're deciding between different forms of a verb: are ensuring, have ensured, ensure, and ensures.
• The choices vary in whether they're singular or plural.

To see what works here, let's read the complete sentence and understand what it's saying:

• 'Using one of these noncopyrighted songs ______ a creator won't lose advertising revenue.'

So the sentence is saying:

• When you use public domain music (action)
• It [blank verb] that creators keep their ad revenue (result/outcome)

The verb we need should mean something like "guarantees" or "makes certain."

What do we notice about the structure here?

The subject of this sentence is:

• 'Using one of these noncopyrighted songs'
  • This whole phrase is the subject - it's describing an action as if it were a thing
  • Even though 'songs' is plural within the phrase, the phrase as a whole represents one single action or concept
  • Think of it like "Swimming is good exercise" - 'swimming' is just one activity, so we say 'is,' not 'are'

After the verb comes:

• 'a creator won't lose advertising revenue'
  • This is what gets ensured/guaranteed by using public domain songs

Since the subject 'Using one of these noncopyrighted songs' represents a single action/concept, we need a singular verb.

Looking at our choices:

• are ensuring, have ensured, and ensure are all plural forms
• ensures is singular

So we need: ensures

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Verb Agreement with Action Phrases as Subjects

When an action phrase (a verb form ending in "-ing" that functions as a noun - called a gerund phrase in grammar terms) serves as the subject of a sentence, it's treated as singular, even if it contains plural words within it.

The Pattern:

• [Action phrase] + singular verb
• Think of the entire action/concept as one single thing

Examples:

1. Playing video games improves hand-eye coordination.
   • "Playing video games" = one activity = singular = use "improves" (not "improve")
2. Eating fruits and vegetables helps maintain good health.
   • "Eating fruits and vegetables" = one action/habit = singular = use "helps" (not "help")
   • Even though "fruits and vegetables" is plural, the whole phrase represents one concept
3. Running marathons requires extensive training.
   • "Running marathons" = one type of activity = singular = use "requires" (not "require")
   • Don't be fooled by "marathons" being plural - the whole phrase is singular

In our question:

• Using one of these noncopyrighted songs ensures a creator won't lose advertising revenue.
• "Using one of these noncopyrighted songs" = one action/practice = singular
• Even though "songs" is plural within the phrase, the entire phrase represents one concept
• Therefore: use "ensures" (singular) not "ensure" (plural)

Key Tip: When you see an "-ing" action phrase as the subject, ask yourself: "Is this one action/concept or multiple?" These phrases almost always represent one unified action or concept, so they take singular verbs.