ABSTRACT
The previous chapter detailed some of the conventional symbols employed in mathematics and how they are customarily com bined to represent a range of mathematical ideas and relation ships. But there is considerable structural coherence and consistency to written mathematical expressions on a larger scale which also governs their use, and, in particular, their transforma tion. The symbol cluster ‘5 + + 7 —’ is as ungrammatical as a mathematical expression as put cat the mat on the is as an English one. Does it make sense to assign grammatical category terms such as noun, adjective or verb to particular symbols in symbol clusters? Is a different collection of functional grammatical terms such as element, operator and relation more appropriate to a description of mathematical syntax? To what extent is there a distinct syntax of mathematical terms and expressions, and is it consistent within itself?
