my $String = "hello I went to the store yesterday and the day after and the day after";

if ($String =~ m{yesterday .+? after})
{
	print $&;
}

##</code><code>##

my $String = "hello I went to the store yesterday and the day after and the day after";

if ($String =~ m{(yesterday .+? after)})
{
	print $1;
}