HTML is a standard markup language used to create web pages. It uses tags to define headings, paragraphs, lists and other document elements. The standard version of HTML has evolved over time from HTML 2.0 in 1995 to newer standards like HTML 5. An HTML file defines the structure and layout of a web page through tags. A basic HTML file structure includes an opening <html> tag, <head> and <body> tags to define page elements and content.