diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/query.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/query.sgml
index b190f28d41e..8f5de9e23bc 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/query.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/query.sgml
@@ -264,14 +264,14 @@ COPY weather FROM '/home/user/weather.txt';
 
     where the file name for the source file must be available on the
     machine running the backend process, not the client, since the backend process
-    reads the file directly.  The data inserted above into the weather table
-    could also be inserted from a file containing (values are separated by a
-    tab character):
+    reads the file directly. The file should have a structure supported by the
+    command, i.e.:
 
 <programlisting>
-San Francisco    46    50    0.25    1994-11-27
-San Francisco    43    57    0.0    1994-11-29
-Hayward    37    54    \N    1994-11-29
+San Francisco;46;50;0.25;1994-11-27
+San Francisco;43;57;0.0;1994-11-29
+Hayward;37;54;;1994-11-29
 </programlisting>
 
     You can read more about the <command>COPY</command> command in