$li ="abbjghfg table 1 vinoth figer table2"; $f=$li; while($f=~m /table[ ]([0-9])+|table([0-9])+|fig[ ][0-9]+|fig[0-9]+/i) { $f = $'; #print " after ----$f \n "; $match_key=$&; #print " --match : --$match_key \n "; $front=$`; $rep=$front."