You want to search for two words within five words of each other. Which search request would accomplish this function?

Question

Options

• Aapple by pear w/5
• BJune near July w/5
• Csupernova w/5 cassiopeia
• Dsupernova by cassiopeia w/5

• A
  6% (2)
• C
  91% (31)
• D
  3% (1)

Explanation

Option C uses the correct proximity search syntax by placing the w/5 operator directly between the two search terms (supernova w/5 cassiopeia), which instructs the search engine to return results where those words appear within five words of each other.

Why the distractors fail:

• A (apple by pear w/5) uses by as a connector, which is not a valid proximity operator - w/5 must sit directly between the terms, not after a different keyword.
• B (June near July w/5) mixes two separate proximity operators (near and w/5); you use one or the other, and the syntax is malformed.
• D (supernova by cassiopeia w/5) appends w/5 at the end rather than inserting it between the two target words, and by is not a recognized proximity connector.

Memory tip: Think of w/5 as a bridge - it must connect the two words directly, like word1 w/5 word2. If anything else sits between the words and the operator, the syntax breaks.

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