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Can someone tell and explain to me which sentence uses the definite article correctly?

  1. Force is denoted by the symbol F.
  2. Force is denoted by symbol F.

When we talk about proper nouns like the name of a person after the title, we don't use the definite article.

For example,

He is President Trump.

We don't say "he is the President Trump." Is it true in the above case?

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    If you read the Tour properly you will see that this is not a site for English Language Learners — There is a separate SE site of that name.
    – David
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 18:28
  • Either could be correct, but they mean different things. Is there a list of symbols say A-Z?
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 18:47
  • To @Edwin-Ashworth: Although any letter from A-Z can be used to denote force, but generally, "F" is used.
    – Kumar
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 18:58
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    'Force is denoted by symbol F' is correct if there are various symbols presented, and the symbols are lettered. If they were numbered, 'Force is denoted by symbol 23' say might be correct. If 'F' is the actual symbol rather than the symbol's label, the definite article is required (though @aparente001's suggestion is also valid [not binding]).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Aug 10, 2019 at 14:29
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    I understand your question better now. Yes, it follows the same pattern.
    – aparente001
    Commented Aug 10, 2019 at 15:02

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