print 1<2 ? '1' : '2', $/; #### $ perl -Mstrict -Mwarnings -e ' for my $item_count (0..2) { print "$item_count item", $item_count == 1 ? "" : "s", ".\n" } ' 0 items. 1 item. 2 items. #### my $arrref = \( if(1<2){'1'}else{()} ); #### $arrayref = \(...); #### $arrayref = [...];