Search this Site!

Look at the upper right corner for the search tool, which is available on every page of my site. You can use this search box to do everything from very simple one-word searches to advanced Boolean searches. Just type in the search box and then hit "enter," or click the search button.

Simple searches

Type one or more words, as follows:

1. A single word, to find pages which contain that word.
   
2. Two or more words, to find page which contain all the words you enter, anywhere on the page. For example, if you enter beginning French, the search engine will find pages on which these two words appear, whether or not they are next to each other.
     
3. A phrase in quotation marks, such as "beginning French" will bring up only those pages on which the exact phrase beginning French occurs.

You can use the following Boolean terms to help you in your search:

• and
• or
• and not
• near

If your question is complex, use parentheses to group separate ideas: (beginning AND verbs) OR ("beginning French" AND verbs)

You can use the plus (+) to include specific words and the minus sign to (-) exclude specific words. For example, if you want to search for information on dialects but not in Canada, you could search for dialects -canada. Or if you want to search for information specifically on Canadian dialects, one way to narrow down your search is to require the word Canada and search for dialects +canada.

You can use an asterisk (*) wildcard to stand in for any string of letters. For instance a search for
     teach*
will find pages with words such as: teach, teaching, teacher, etc.
 

TIPS

Search is case insensitive

• It doesn't matter whether you use capital or small letters.

If you're not getting the results you expect...

• Check your spelling and punctuation
  If a word is misspelled or missing accents, it won't be found. Avoid unnecessary punctuation and make sure there are spaces between words.
• Be less specific
  Start your search with more general language. For example, search for French subjunctive instead of a specific verb in the subjunctive.

If you're getting too many irrelevant pages while searching for a single word...

• Add more words
  Add another word or two (separated by AND or NOT, as needed) to narrow your search.
• Simplify the words
  Try using synonyms, common language, or even everyday slang.

You don't need to ask a question.  

• You can ask About's search engine a question, but it isn't necessary. For example, asking how can I learn the subjunctive? will yield good results, but typing subjunctive mood in the search field will give you even better search matches. Using fewer, more specific words will nearly always make your searches more successful.
   

Don't stop here...

My Find it! page has various indexes to help you find whatever you are looking for.

About.com has more than 500 different sites, several of which include information about French. If this search engine cannot find the information you seek on the French language site, it will search throughout About.com. 

I hope you find what you need! If not, please post your question on the forum. The forum receives many visitors, and someone will certainly have an answer for you there.
  

Discuss in my forum