Read the optional group

A pattern that pulls a name and an optional title out of a line. For each input, say whether it matches and what each group comes back holding — and be exact about the difference between a group that matched nothing and one that never ran.

^(\w+)(?: \((\w*)\))?$

^(\w+)(?: \((\w*)\))?$

^()?$

^(+)(?: $(\w*)$)?$

^(\w+)(?:)?$

^(\w+)(?: $()$)?$

^(\w+)(?: $(*)$)?$

Your prediction

One row per input: whether it matches, and what each group captures
Input	1	2
ada	—	—
ada (countess)	—	—
ada ()	—	—
ada (countess	—	—
(countess)	—	—

Nothing runs until you have answered every row.