im new to standard and have a few questions. what happens if you switch to a higher gear at an rpm that is too low? how can you tell when it is safe to switch gears? can you do anythign bad to your engine but switching at incorrect times(other than redlining)?

If you shift too soon it will bog down or stall. If it does not do either then you are fine. If you skip a gear the same rule applies. If you do not press the clutch enough it may grind, you will hear this and know it is bad without anyone telling you. Have fun.

ok, but if i ever screw up the car will just stall and this is not bad for the engine, just the clutch? just wanted to make ure. thanx

You'll learn fast enough to not do any damage. If you do it all the time its a little tougher on the engine, but you'll get the hang of it in a few weeks, tops.

Pretty soon it'll be second nature and you won't even have to think about it. Just watch the tachometer, and don't take it over redline. If it doesn't have a tachometer, you'll know that you're revving it too fast when it sounds like its screaming.

it took me an hour of driving around my h0use to figure it out. Another way that helps huge is just reversing 10 feet and going back forward. You master first gear, which is the hardest, all others are easier after that.

When you shift too soon and lug an engine it puts thermendous load on your main bearings. This will shorten your main bearing life.
best to rev engine to correct RPM and shift to next gear rather than skip gears and lug engines.