Suppose that $S=\set{\vectorlist{v}{n}}$ is a set of column vectors. Define $W=\spn{S}$ and let $A$ be the matrix whose columns are the vectors from $S$. Let $B$ be the reduced row-echelon form of $A$, with $D=\set{\scalarlist{d}{r}}$ the set of column indices corresponding to the pivot columns of $B$. Then

1. $T=\set{\vect{v}_{d_1},\,\vect{v}_{d_2},\,\vect{v}_{d_3},\,\ldots\,\vect{v}_{d_r}}$ is a linearly independent set.
2. $W=\spn{T}$.