$("*") Selects all elements $(this) Selects the current HTML element $("p.intro") Selects all <p> elements with class="intro" $("p:first") Selects the first <p> element Try it $("ul li:first") Selects the first <li> element of the first <ul> $("ul li:first-child") Selects the first <li> element of every <ul> $("[href]") Selects all elements with an href attribute $("a[target='_blank']") Selects all <a> elements with a target attribute value equal to "_blank" Try it $("a[target!='_blank']") Selects all <a> elements with a target attribute value NOT equal to "_blank" Try it $(":button") Selects all <button> elements and <input> elements of type="button" Try it $("tr:even") Selects all even <tr> elements Try it $("tr:odd") Selects all odd <tr> elements