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HTML Paragraphs

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HTML Paragraphs

The HTML <p> element defines a paragraph:

Example

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
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Note: Browsers automatically add some white space (a margin) before and after a paragraph.

HTML Display

You cannot be sure how HTML will be displayed.

Large or small screens, and resized windows will create different results.

With HTML, you cannot change the output by adding extra spaces or extra lines in your HTML code.

The browser will remove any extra spaces and extra lines when the page is displayed:

Example

<p>
This paragraph
contains a lot of lines
in the source code,
but the browser
ignores it.
</p>

<p>
This paragraph
contains         a lot of spaces
in the source         code,
but the        browser
ignores it.
</p>
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Don't Forget the End Tag

Most browsers will display HTML correctly even if you forget the end tag:

Example

<p>This is a paragraph.
<p>This is another paragraph.
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The example above will work in most browsers, but do not rely on it.

Note: Dropping the end tag can produce unexpected results or errors.

HTML Line Breaks

The HTML <br> element defines a line break.

Use <br> if you want a line break (a new line) without starting a new paragraph:

Example

<p>This is<br>a paragraph<br>with line breaks.</p>
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The <br> tag is an empty tag, which means that it has no end tag.

The Poem Problem

This poem will display on a single line:

Example

<p>
  My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

  My Bonnie lies over the sea.

  My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

  Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
</p>
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The HTML <pre> Element

The HTML <pre> element defines preformatted text.

The text inside a <pre> element is displayed in a fixed-width font (usually Courier), and it preserves both spaces and line breaks:

Example

<pre>
  My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

  My Bonnie lies over the sea.

  My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

  Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
</pre>
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Test Yourself with Exercises!

Exercise 1 »    Exercise 2 »    Exercise 3 »    Exercise 4 »

HTML Tag Reference

W3Schools' tag reference contains additional information about HTML elements and their attributes.

Tag Description
<p> Defines a paragraph
<br> Inserts a single line break
<pre> Defines pre-formatted text

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