Linear functional on LCS is continuous iff it is bounded by finite linear combination of topology-defining semi-norms

functional-analysislocally-convex-spacestopological-vector-spaces

Consider a linear functional f on a TVS, whose topology is generated by a family of semi-norms $\mathcal{P}$, such that the topology is Hausdorff. In functional analysis by Conway, it is said that f is continuous if and only if $$|f(x)|\leq\sum_{k=1}^{n}\alpha_np_n(x)$$
For all x. My question is, why can this sum only include a finite number of terms from $\mathcal{P}$? I know that f is continuous if and only if the map $x\rightarrow|f(x)|$ is a continuous semi-norm, and I know that semi-norms are continuous iff they are bounded by some continuous semi-norm. I can't seem to find the missing piece though.

Best Answer

Since $f$ is continuous, there exists an open neighborhood $V$ of $0$, such that $$ x\in V \Rightarrow |f(x)|<1. $$ By definition of the topology defined by semi-norms, there exists a finite set $\{p_1,p_2,\ldots,p_n\}\subseteq \mathcal P$, and $\epsilon>0$, such that $$ (\forall i)\ p_i(x)<\epsilon \Rightarrow x\in V. $$ Can you now finish the argument?