This works: grep("([A-Za-z]*) ", "Aaaa 3 x 0 Bbbb") # 1 This also works: grep("([A-Za-z]*) ", "Aaaa 3 x 0 Bbbb", value=T) # Aaaa 3 x 0 Bbbb However, I want a grep that returns the _matched_ pattern, which, in this case, would be Aaaa. How can I do it? Alberto Monteiro