print "\n$word1 $word2 $word3 $word4\n" if (($ans = ) =~ /^y/); could have been print "\n$word1 $word2 $word3 $word4\n" if ( =~ /^y/i); or print "\n$word1 $word2 $word3 $word4\n" if ( =~ /^[Yy]/);