Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / ib / Paper 4 / 11G (Groups, Rings and Modules)

For each $s\in S\setminus T$, maximality implies a nontrivial relationHere $a_s\ne 0$, since otherwise this would contradict the linear independence in a module of $T$. Thus $a_{s}s\in N$. Take $r={\prod }_{s\in S\setminus T}{a}_s$, with empty product equal to one. Because $R$ is an integral domain, $r\ne 0$. Every $s\in S\setminus T$ satisfies $rs\in N$, and this is also true for $s\in T$. Expressing any element of the finitely generated module as an $R$-linear combination of $S$ now gives $rM\subseteq N$. This is clearing denominators relative to an independent module subset; it does not require $R$ to be a field.

The map $\phi :M\to N$, $x\mapsto rx$, is a module homomorphism, and it is injective because $r\ne 0$ and $M$ is a torsion-free module. The linear independence in a module of $T$ makes the map $R^{|T|}\to N$ sending the standard basis to $T$ an isomorphism. Thus $N$ is a finite free module, and $M\cong \phi (M)\subseteq N\cong R^{|T|}$. This proves embedding a finitely generated torsion-free module in a finite free module. No claim that the submodule itself is free over an arbitrary integral domain is needed.