List reference assignments (PHP 7.3) ----- &$v) = $x; [&$v] = $x; ['k' => &$v] = $x; ----- !!php7 array( 0: Stmt_Expression( expr: Expr_Assign( var: Expr_List( items: array( 0: Expr_ArrayItem( key: null value: Expr_Variable( name: v ) byRef: true ) ) ) expr: Expr_Variable( name: x ) ) ) 1: Stmt_Expression( expr: Expr_Assign( var: Expr_List( items: array( 0: Expr_ArrayItem( key: Scalar_String( value: k ) value: Expr_Variable( name: v ) byRef: true ) ) ) expr: Expr_Variable( name: x ) ) ) 2: Stmt_Expression( expr: Expr_Assign( var: Expr_Array( items: array( 0: Expr_ArrayItem( key: null value: Expr_Variable( name: v ) byRef: true ) ) ) expr: Expr_Variable( name: x ) ) ) 3: Stmt_Expression( expr: Expr_Assign( var: Expr_Array( items: array( 0: Expr_ArrayItem( key: Scalar_String( value: k ) value: Expr_Variable( name: v ) byRef: true ) ) ) expr: Expr_Variable( name: x ) ) ) )