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A Card is a spell from the time it's played, until it resolves. When it eventually does resolve, if it's an instant or sorcery card, it goes into its controller's graveyard; If it's a creature, enchantment, or artifact it is put into play on the board with the rest of the permanents. Even thought it wouldn't seem so, creature cards are aslo spells before they resolve. There is one exception to the spell rule; Lands are never spells, they are just put into play.
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An ability is a spell printed on a permanent. Many abilities have mana costs, which you play and resolve just like spells. Once you play an ability, it doesn't matter what happens to its source [The card it's being played from.] For example, if you play Crossbow Infantry's ability and then it is destroyed, the ability will resolve anyway.
Now, lets dive a litter deeper. There are three types of abilities.
[Activated Abilities] - An activated ability is one played by paying its mana cost. All activated abilities have a colon (:) in them. Whatever is described before the ability is activation cost. The part after the colon is the effect you get when you pay the activation cost. For example, [" , :Tap an untapped creature you control; Put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token into play."] Means if you tap the permanent with the ability and pay the mana cost, you Put a 1/1 Saproling creature into play.
You can usually play activated abilites with in their costs only once per turn because you can't tap a permanent if it's already tapped. Although, some cards don't display the "tap this" in their activated abilites; therefore you can play the ability as many times as you can afford to the pay the mana cost.
You can play activated abilities anytime you have priority in a turn [This is explained more in the Turn-Structure section.], because it goes on the stack to resolve, just like an instant would. Furthermore, you can only play the activated abilities of cards under your control.
[Triggered Abilities] - "At," "When," or "Whenever" are words that signify a triggered ability. You don't play a triggered ability like you would an activated ability. Triggered abilities go on the stack automatically after its "Trigger Event" occurs.
 For example, [When Venerable Monk comes into play, you gain 2 life."] The trigger event is the Monk coming into play. When that happens, the Monk's triggered ability goes onto the stack. When the ability resolves from the stack, the player who played Venerable Monk gains 2 life. Moreover, triggered abilities can't be ignored or delayed. If the "trigger event" occurs more than once, the ability goes on the stack for each occurance of the triggered event.
[Static Ability] - Static abilities are unique from the other two types of abilities due to the fact that when they are played, they instantly are instantly active. Most Static Abilities are Enchantments. In turn, they are permanents. and stay in play until they are destroyed. For example, the card -Telepathy- ["Your opponents play with their hands revealed."] After the -Telepathy- is in play, you don't have to pay mana to keep it on the board, or to keep the ability active. Your opponent(s) just leave their hand face up on the board until -Telepathy- leaves play.
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When a spell or ability resolves, it has an effect. There are four basic kinds of effects.
[One-Shot Effects] - One-shot effects do something once, such as deal damage, or destroy a creature. For example, -Tidings- reads, ["Draw four cards."] When it resolves, its effect is done.
[Continuous Effect] - Countinuous effects do something repeatedly, or for a length of time. A continuous effect from a spell or ability lasts as long as the effect says it does. For example, -Giant Growth- reads, ["Target creature gets +3/+3 Until the end of turn."] its effect lasts from the time it resolves and up to the end of the current turn.
A conintuous effect from a static ability lasts as long as the permanent with the static ability is in play. For example, -Unholy Strength- reads, ["Enchanted creature get +2/+1." Its effect on the enchanted creature lasts as long as it's attached to that creature.
[Replacement Effect] - Replacement effects wait for something to happen, and then somehow change it. They "replace" one effect with a different one. They always use the word "instead."
For Example, -Furnace of Rath- reads, ["If a source would deal damage to a creature or player, it deals double that damage to that creature or player."] It waits for the target, (creature or player) and then changes it so that it does twice the damage.
[Prevention Effect] - Prevention effects wait for something (usually damage) to happen and then keep it from happening. They always use "prevent" in their wording.
Prevention effects work like shields, sometimes even being called "Prevention Shields." After the "shield" resolves, it continues to wait until damage is dealth (usually until the end of turn,) then it stops some or all of the damage.
For example, -Holy Day- says, ["Prevent all combat damage that would be dealth this turn."] You can play Holy Day long before combat, and its effect will remain for the rest of the turn. Then if creatures try to deal combat damage that turn, Holy Day prevents it.
Prevention "shields" hang around until they're used up. For example, -Master Healer- reads, [": Prevent the next 4 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn."] The ability creates an effect that stops up to 4 damage during the turn. If 1 damage is prevented, it can still prevent 3 more.
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