English can be used to control the speed of the cue ball after making contact with the object ball. This is illustrated below.
You can control the position of the cue ball even without it bouncing off the cushion as illustrated above. This is more relevant to shots with smaller angles like the one shown above (although it is still applicable, to a lesser degree, to shots with more angle).
When using no english with medium speed, the cueball naturally stops at the point indicated by "no english" in the illustration above. If, however, we want the minimum cueball movement, we can use outside english and the cueball would stop at the point indicated by "outside english" in the illustration above.
There are two factors that are involved that resulted in a very slight movement of the cue ball when using outside english:
- Remember that when using outside english, you will need to aim a little thicker on the object ball. See "Outside English aim" in the illustration above. Aiming thicker minimizes the movement of the cueball.
- When using outside english, an effect called "throw" is generated. Throw will pocket the object ball. Refer to the lesson, Understanding English - Throw.
Keep in mind that these example uses the same speed of stroke for both no english and outside english.
