$re = '/([^\v]{0,80})(?:\s|$)/m';
$str = 'There are usually about 200 words in a paragraph, but this can vary widely. Most paragraphs focus on a single idea that\'s expressed with an introductory sentence, then followed by two or more supporting sentences about the idea. A short paragraph may not reach even 50 words while long paragraphs can be over 400 words long, but generally speaking they tend to be approximately 200 words in length.';
$subst = "$1\n";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php