Get element type with jQuery

also you can use:

$("#elementId").get(0).tagName

you should use tagName property and attr('type') for inputs

Getting the element type the jQuery way:

var elementType = $(this).prev().prop('nodeName');

doing the same without jQuery

var elementType = this.previousSibling.nodeName;

Checking for specific element type:

var is_element_input = $(this).prev().is("input"); //true or false