Here is a cut and paste that may simplify it for you...
<A ...> is the cornerstone of HTML, the tag that makes hypertext hypertext. <A ...> is the tag you use to make hyperlinks: the text that you can click on in your web browser to go to another web page.
For example, this code creates a link:
)A HREF="mywebpage.html">My Web Page</A( , but not )(, use "<" and ">"
this code produces this
<A HREF="mywebpage.html">My Web Page</A>
My Web Page
Let's look at each part of that link:
<A
Says that this is an anchor (<A ...>) tag
HREF="mywebpage.html">
Says that the Hypertext REFerence for this anchor is the file "mywebpage.html". When an anchor makes a hypertext reference, we call it a "link".
My Web Page
This is the text which appears on the web page. This text is usually highlighted in some way, such as coloring it blue, to indicate that it is "hypertext" (if you click on it, something happens).
</A>
Closes the anchor
This is the simplest type of anchor, but it is probably the kind you will use by far the most.