 Defining representation of a matrix Lie algebra

For a Lie subalgebra $\mathfrak{g}\subseteq \mathfrak{gl}(V)$, its defining representation is its given action on the vector space $V$. The Lie bracket identity $[X,Y]v=X(Yv)-Y(Xv)$ verifies the representation property. For the special linear Lie algebra, diagonal trace-zero matrices have coordinate weights of a representation $L_i$ on the standard basis; for a Special orthogonal Lie algebra, the same action preserves the defining symmetric bilinear form.