re = /^(?:(?:(?:(\d+)d\s*)?(\d+)h\s*)?(\d+)m\s*)?(\d+)s$/m
str = '1d 2h 3m 4s
1h 2m 3s
1m 2s
1s
1d2h3m4s
1h2m3s
1m2s
1s'
subst = '$1 days $2 hours $3 minutes $4 days'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts 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 Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html