If PREG_OFFSET_CAPTURE is set then unmatched captures (i.e. ones with '?') will not be present in the result array. This is presumably because there is no offset, and thus the original PHP dev decided best to just leave it out.
If PREG_OFFSET_CAPTURE is set then unmatched captures (i.e. ones with '?') will not be present in the result array. This is presumably because there is no offset, and thus the original PHP dev decided best to just leave it out.