syntax error, unexpected identifier “%s”, expecting “;” or “{”

Description

An abstract method’s signature must be terminated with a semicolon, since it has no body, and a concrete method’s signature must be followed by a { opening the body. Here, an extra identifier was found right after the closing parenthesis of the argument list, where PHP expected one of those two terminators.

This typically happens when a return type declaration is missing its leading colon, or when a stray word was left over after editing the signature.

Example

<?php

abstract class X {
    abstract function foo() bar;
}

?>

Literal Examples

• syntax error, unexpected identifier “bar”, expecting “;” or “{”

Solutions

• If a return type was intended, add a colon before it: abstract function foo(): bar;.

• Remove the extra identifier.

• If the method should have a body, replace the identifier with { and the method’s code.

Related Error Messages

• syntax error, unexpected identifier “%s”, expecting “(”

• syntax error, unexpected variable “$this”, expecting “;” or “{”

Changed Behavior

This error may appear following an evolution in behavior, in previous versions. See ` <https://php-changed-behaviors.readthedocs.io/en/latest/behavior/.html>`_.