<?php
// in the first expression
$a + $a++;
// "++" has higher precedence than "+", so "$a++" is grouped:
$a + ($a++);
// in the second expressions
$a + $a + $a++;
// "++" again has higher precedence than "+":
$a + $a + ($a++);
// and "+" is a left-associative operator, so the left "+" is grouped:
($a + $a) + ($a++);