| ^ | matches start of word |
| ^br | matches words beginning with 'br' |
| [ ] | matches any member of the enclosed character set |
| [w-z] | matches all letters starting at w and ending at z, ie. letters w, x, y and z |
| [aeiouy] | matches any vowel |
| vo[ck] | matches 'voc' or 'vok' |
| $ | matches end of word |
| [st]ion$ | matches words ending 'sion' or 'tion' |
| [^ ] | matches any character not in the enclosed set |
| [^aeiou] | matches any consonant |
| q[^u] | matches q followed by any letter other than u |
| | | separates alternatives |
| ing|ed|er | matches 'ing', 'ed' or 'er' |
| . | matches any letter |
| .y.|^y | matches medial or initial y |
| ( ) | groups a pattern |
| (ing|ed|er)$ | matches final 'ing', 'ed' or 'er' |
| { } | specifies number of matches for the preceding pattern |
| m([aeiouy]{2}|ow) | matches m followed by two vowels or by 'ow' |