Switch-case statement works like if-elseif.<br> As well as you can use regex for if-elseif, you can also use it in switch-case. if (preg_match('/John.*/', $name)) { // do stuff for people whose name is John, Johnny, ... } can be coded as: switch $name { case (preg_match('/John.*/', $name) ? true : false) : // do stuff for people whose name is John, Johnny, ... break; }