From what i have read (which is very little), the goal in the English is to have a firm grip on d5 and later have a Knight Outpost there. What happens though if my opponent direct trades his d5 pawn with my c4 pawn? What am I to do?

What are the othe ideas when using the English? I would appreciate explanation of key ideas on short lines more than the names of the lines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Opening

That site (although I'm not a fan of Wiki) seems pretty good for a beginner at 1.c4

You normally have 3 choices. You really have 4.

1. Take
2. Defend
3. Move out the way.
4. Ignore/Gambit/Inbetween move

1. Take: Black loses a tempo after Qxd5 because you'll have Nc3. You could still attempt to keep you grip on d5 with g3 then Bg2. If Black plays Nf6, they will still lose a tempo after 2. d4 Nxd5 3. e4

2. Defend: d3 causes you to either lose the right to castle or lose a tempo with Qa4+ then Qc4. b3 causes your queenside to become weak after dxc4 (an isolated a pawn but an open b file).

3.Move to c5 doesn't seem to be the one you'll choose since you're so in love with the d5 square. It'll lessen you hold on the center and give you a pawn to babysit.

4. Continue with development - g3 probably. Nf3 eyeing Qa4 then Ne5 for a quick attack is also possible. Though reckless you may find it interesting if you an attacking player. d4 tranposing to Queens Gambit is good as well. This can be a good option because most Black players if their aim is to play d5will more than likely play e6. In the QGD that's familiar territory so need to be overwhelmed.

Hope this helps.

Use the semi open file.

The English was all I ever played for years (as a gesture of patriotism as much as anything else ) if you want to learn the opening it’s well worth getting hold of a copy of The Dynamic English by Tony Kosten – his idea is to go: 1.c4 2.g3 3.Bg2 regardless of pretty much anything black chooses to do in the meantime – his theory is that the early fianchetto of the Bishop, rather than playing the more standard, early development of the Knight to c3 cuts down on a lot of black’s options and gives the old English a slightly more ‘dynamic’ edge.

It isn’t fool proof (in fact I’ve since sold my copy to a mate at my Chess club) but it worked for me for a long while