my @answers = (); open(my $file, "quiz4.txt"); while (my $line = <$file>) { if ($line =~ /\A\*/) { $line = substr($line, 1); $answer = substr($line,0); push(@answers, $answer); } } #### for ($i=0; $i<=9; $i++) { $thisname = $name[$i]; if (exists $formHash{$thisname}) { if ($formHash{$thisname} eq $answer[$i]) { print "Correct answer"; } else { print "incorrect answer"; } } }