$re = '/([[:alnum:]])\.([[:alnum:]])/';
$str = 'Names: $annie.bettie.cindy.dannie.ellie$. Only $a$ names. $a.b.c.d.e.f$.';
$subst = "\1";
$result = preg_replace($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