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Latest post Sun, Feb 13 2005 8:42 AM by Young. 5 replies.
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Young  +  73623 Sun, 13 Feb 05 08:42 AM
Hi,

I am always confused with article usage.
Please tell me which sentence is correct and the reason for that.

- A' means the transpose of matrix A.
- A' means the transpose of a matrix A.
- A' means the transpose of the matrix A.

Here is another one.

a = b + c (1)

- We realize that .... in formula (1).
- We realize that .... in the formula (1)

Thanks in advance
Joined on Sun, Feb 13 2005
New Member 02
Casi  +  73638 Sun, 13 Feb 05 11:15 AM
of matrix A (matrix A is know; the one in the diagram below/above)
of a matrix A. (any given matrix A)
of the matrix A on the right. (specific; e.g., the one on the right, not the left)

We realize that . . . in formula (1). (formula (1) is know)

By the way, shouldn't A' means the transpose of matrix A be expresses as A' is matrix A transposed?
Joined on Sat, Sep 25 2004
Regular Member 547
Mister Micawber  +  73665 Sun, 13 Feb 05 01:57 PM

That's what I thought too, Casi, till I found this:

'Transpose (noun): a matrix formed by interchanging the rows and columns of a given matrix.'

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004
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'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'
Casi, 4 yr 284 days ago
Aha! So it's true: you can teach an old dog new tricks after all.

Thanks, MM.
SMILES
Young  +  73750 Mon, 14 Feb 05 01:40 AM
Thanks for your explanation.

However, I can't understand the difference between "matrix A" and "the matrix A".

Are both "the one in the diagram" and "the one on the right" specific ?

How can I distinguish them?

Thanks

Mister Micawber  +  73802 Mon, 14 Feb 05 09:35 AM

I think Casi is explaining that 'matrix A' is easily identified visually, so that the definite article is not required, where 'the matrix A' refers-- grammatically-- back to a specific or previously-mentioned matrix A-- or perhaps 'the matrix A (which we have just constructed)', for example.

'A' itself identifies the matrix -- it is its name, so to speak--, so that 'the' is not mandatory as it would be with, for instance 'dog' and 'the dog' in cases of specificity; for clarity, however, it might be felt needed.

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