PHP - Preg replace pattern to replace / or & with space or without space if necessary

Question

What is the preg_replace pattern to replace the / or & with and with and without space? The pattern should be able to replace all the below examples:

This is J/J. to This is J and J..

J/J, Y& S, and U / A are names. to J and J, Y and S and U and A are names..

What does J /J or J & E mean? to What does J and J or J and E mean?

Answer 1

Try this:

<?php
   $text = "J/J, Y& S, and U / A are names.";
   $result = preg_replace('~[/&]~', ' and ', $text, -1);
   echo $result;