If every proper subset of an infinite set $A$ is countable, then is the set $A$ also countable

real-analysis

If every proper subset of an infinite set $A$ is countable, then is the set $A$ also countable?

Attempt: Suppose every proper subset of $A$ is countable. Then since $A$ is the union of the proper subsets of $A$. But, the power subset of infinite countable $A$ is uncountable, therefore, $A$ must be uncountable.

But, a possible error here could be that many proper subsets may have a non-empty intersection. Thus, we may have overcounted many elements many times. Does that impact the uncountability of $A$? I am a bit confused

Thanks a lot for the help

Best Answer

Pick some $x \in A$, and consider $A\setminus \{x\}$. This is a proper subset of $A$, and therefore countable. Now consider $A\setminus \{x\} \cup \{x\}$, which is countable as it's the union with a singleton. But this is the same as $A$, so $A$ is countable.

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