# minimum sentence size, to elimnate fluff $min_size=10; # grab and print first 4 sentences only (ending with '.') $article="'Sentence 1. This is sent. 2. This is sentence 3. What? The cost is $1.23, on sale. What do you think? This is the last s\ entence."; ($intro)=($article=~/((?:[^\.]{$min_size,}\.){4})/si); print "$intro\n";