Past exam of the rings and modules course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 2 / a / v

Choose a countable generating family $(n_k)$ for $N$. For each $k$, the expression of $n_k$ in the basis of a module $E$ has a finite set $H_k$ of nonzero coefficients, its coordinate support in a free module. LetBy the countable union of countable sets property, $E^{\prime }$ is a countable set. Every $n_k$ belongs to $⟨E^{\prime }⟩$, so all finite $R$-linear combinations of the $n_k$ do too. ThereforeHere and below, countable includes finite. The same construction applies to a finite or empty generating family. This is the countable basis support lemma.