def symbols_from_xyz(xyz_list):
        """
        Takes a list of lists containing xyz file lines and the elemental symbols

        Parameters
        ----------
        xyz_list: List of lists
            Outer list is whole xyz file, each inner list is a line of the file containing
            the symbol and x,y,z coordinates

        Returns
        ----------
        symbols: List of strings
            List of atomic symbols
        """
        symbols=[]
        for i in range(len(xyz_list)):
            symbols.append(str(xyz_list[i][0]))
        return symbols