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+<head>
+<title>UK TeX FAQ -- question label nodollar</title>
+</head><body>
+<h3>"Missing <code>$</code> inserted"</h3>
+<p>There are certain things that <em>only</em> work in maths mode. If your
+document is not in maths mode and you have an <code>_</code> or a <code>^</code> character,
+TeX (and by inheritance, LaTeX too) will say
+<pre>
+! Missing $ inserted
+</pre>
+as if you couldn't possibly have misunderstood the import of what you
+were typing, and the only possible interpretation is that you had
+commited a typo in failing to enter maths mode. TeX, therefore,
+tries to patch things up by inserting the <code>$</code> you 'forgot', so that
+the maths-only object will work; as often as not this will land you in
+further confusion.
+<p>It's not just the single-character maths sub- and superscript
+operators: anything that's built in or declared as a maths operation,
+from the simplest lower-case <code>\</code><code>alpha</code> through the inscrutable
+<code>\</code><code>mathchoice</code> primitive, and beyond, will provoke the error if
+misused in text mode.
+<p>LaTeX offers a command <code>\</code><code>ensuremath</code>, which will put you in maths
+mode for the execution of its argument, if necessary: so if you want
+an <code>\</code><code>alpha</code> in your running text, say
+<code>\</code><code>ensuremath{<code>\</code><code>alpha</code>}</code>; if the bit of running text somehow
+transmutes into a bit of mathematics, the <code>\</code><code>ensuremath</code> will become
+a no-op, so it's pretty much always safe.
+<p><p>This question on the Web: <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=nodollar">http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=nodollar</a>
+</body>