SELECT Statements SQL Topic exerciseEasyVerified answerSQLite + PostgreSQL + MySQL + SQL Server live · 1 guided

SELECT with LIKE Pattern

Return employees whose first name starts with J or G.

  • Filtering

Exercise brief

Understand the request

Recruiting coordinator The team is checking employees whose first names begin with J or G.

Return first_name and last_name for every employee whose first name starts with the letter J or G.

Return

  • Return first_name and last_name.

Constraints

  • Use LIKE pattern matching for the two prefixes.

Data you will use

Review the relevant tables before deciding how to join, filter, or aggregate them.

employees

  • first_nameVARCHAR(50)
  • last_nameVARCHAR(50)

Hints, when you need them

Open one clue at a time so you still do the reasoning.

Hint 1

LIKE handles wildcards. `%` matches zero or more characters; `_` matches exactly one character.

Hint 2

To match names starting with J use `LIKE 'J%'`. Combine the two prefixes with OR.

Hint 3

WHERE first_name LIKE 'J%' OR first_name LIKE 'G%'

Verified SQL answer

Attempt the problem first, then compare structure and reasoning—not just syntax.

Reveal solution and explanation
SELECT first_name, last_name FROM employees WHERE first_name LIKE 'J%' OR first_name LIKE 'G%';

Why this works

LIKE is case-sensitive in some engines (PostgreSQL) and case-insensitive in others (MySQL by default). When you only need a prefix match, `LIKE 'J%'` is faster than functions like LEFT(first_name,1)='J' because it can use an index.

Expected result

Use this output to verify values, aliases, ordering, and row count.

first_namelast_name
JohnSmith
GraceWhite

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