php if statement

[weshacke]

this is php 101 I know, sorry...

If the argument is true set the "pagetitle" variable as something, if the argument is false set the "pagetitle" variable as something else. How do i do that?

<?php
$title = "blah";
if (isset($title))
set pagetitle = "$title";
else
set pagetitle = "$headline $date";
?>

[devinemke]

if (isset($title)) {$pagetitle = $title;} 
else {$pagetitle = $headline . ' ' . $date;}