It is important to understand the box model. As the (oversimplified) rule of thumb, you can think of it this way: There are 2 main types of elements: inline ( span, b, strong...) and the block ( div, p, ...).
TagsBlock by default width: 100%. That is, they naturally stretch out to fill their horizontal area.
, . , . , : , . , .
, height, height, . - - , , "".
divs , . http://jsfiddle.net/S3q2C/ , div , .