Hi, A requirement is that it is preceeded and followed by a space. I have included a script that demo's what I am saying if that helps. Thanks :)

#!/usr/bin/perl

$countsAllExample="a b x y i x y p";
$doesntCountAll="a b x y x y p";
$pattern = "x y";
$count=0;

while($countsAllExample =~ /\s$pattern\s/g){
$count +=1;
}

print "found $pattern $count times in $countsAllExample\n";

#now error occurs as only 1 "x y" reported
###########################################
$count=0;

while($doesntCountAll =~ /\s$pattern\s/g){
$count +=1;
}

print "found $pattern $count times in $doesntCountAll\n";