block element and inline element

<p>This paragraph is a block-level element; its background has been colored to display the paragraph's parent element.</p>

p { background-color: #8ABB55; }

inline elements example :

.highlight {
  background-color:#ee3;
}

<div>The following span is an <span class="highlight">inline element</span>;
its background has been colored to display both the beginning and end of
the inline element's influence.</div>