$string = "a a b b c c";
$patterns = array("/a/","/b/","/c/");
$replacements = array_pad(array(),count($patterns),"<a href='#'>$0</a>");
print preg_replace($patterns, $replacements, $string, 1);
$string = "a a b b c c";
$patterns = array("/a/","/b/","/c/");
$replacements = array_pad(array(),count($patterns),"<a href='#'>$0</a>");
print preg_replace($patterns, $replacements, $string, 1);