Only a few Excel functions accept ranges. If isn't one of them. You probably
want:
=sumproduct((a1:a5="star")*(b1:b5<"n/a"))

Regards,
Fred

"sd" wrote in message
...
i am trying to use the if function in the following manner.

A B
apple red
apple red
grapes purple
grapes yellow
star n/a

if(B1:B5="n/a",0,countif(A1:A5, "star")

I want to use this formula not only for 'star' but also for 'apple' and
grapes' and many more such fruits which might have n/a later. But,
everytime
I use this formula it returns a 1..should it not return a 0 for when the
value in B is n/a?

Please help..
Thank you