How does a stick shift work? What's the difference between the ';gears';, and generally how many are there?

I know manual requires the driver's attention, but what is the purpose of shifting? When do you change gears? Does manual have a neutral like an automatic (what does a neutral do?)? Sorry for so many questions, but I think it's time for me to become familiar with one of these in case I ever had to drive a car in an emergency situation with a stick shift. Thanks.How does a stick shift work? What's the difference between the ';gears';, and generally how many are there?
In Europe, most cars are built with a stick shift. There are usually 5 gears and you have to push down on the most left pedal to shift between them. The pedal in the middle being the break and the pedal on the right being the gas. You can only move the stick while you are pressing down on the pedal. You start driving in gear 1, moving up in gears as you go faster. There is a seperate gear to drive backwards. The neutral setting will enable you to start the car without going forwards or backwards but you can't drive the car in neutral, it won't move!How does a stick shift work? What's the difference between the ';gears';, and generally how many are there?
Wrong... you can usually shift without using the clutch at all.... once you get the 'feel' of the car.

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www how it works/manual transmission...yahoo or google search
You need to find a good freind who have a Manuel transmission to show you and then try it because it take practice to drive one not something you don't do in a emergency. there are several are 3 4 and 5 speed transmission. neutral is where you start up the car in.
Neutral on a manual gearbox is when the shifter moves freely side to side within the horizontal notch that provides a path to all the gear notches. You change gears when the engine RPM's reach a certain speed, the vehicle is at a certain speed, any long slopes you may encounter while driving, basically a bunch of factors that determine your shifting habits. The difference between a manual and an automatic, mainly is that the automatic has clutch packs that engage when the computer or manifold vacuum changes the path of the fluid pressure within the transmission for the proper gear, whereas the manual is made up of gears that mesh together depending on your gear selection and gear ratios inside the gearbox. Learning how to drive a stickshift takes practice and its best to learn with a cheap car with years on it before moving up to a more prestigious manual vehicle.