English Opening

I recently played a game where white opted for the English opening. I was wondering what black should play for in this type of game. (I do know there were some mistakes and blunders in this game, though I did manage to luck out in the end, but the opening is my main concern.)

Moves like 6...Bc5, 8...Ng4 and 13...e4 scream that you should forget about openings, and concentrate on the basics.

Thanks. I feel like I understand the English now...
Anyone else? 

Although, if you want to tell me why moves 6, 8, and 13 are problematic, I won't complain. I don't know what is wrong with move 6, but I suppose moves 8 and 13 are too ambitious for my lack of development?

6...Bc5 puts the bishop on a square he can be attacked with tempo gain (7.d4).

8...Ng4 attacks against thin air, before you are able to complete your development.

13...e4 self-destroys your only trump (center), again before completing your development, and effectively drops a pawn (that very same pawn on e4).

Ain't that enough?

6...where should I place the bishop then?

8...I was hoping for an eventual attack later, and figured my knight would be safe for the moment, but I see your point. 

 13...Sorry if I still don't quite see all the problems with this one yet, although I do agree that the development would have been a better choice. Would e4 be an eventual idea in this opening though?

Perhaps I don't develop the pieces because I don't know where they should go in this opening? Nd6 looks alright, but I haven't the slightest clue on how to handle the light-squared bishop, and was worried Nd6 would block it in. Although there are individual topics of study in chess, I don't think each are mutually exclusive. Understanding openings can teach about basics. So, wanna talk about the English opening?

Edit
Of course, if I had played 5...exd5, I wouldn't have that bishop problem... 

Seriously though, what are some people's best responses to the English? 

what do you play against the queens pawn(1.d4)?

I usually play 1...d5, which usually turns into a queen's gambit declined. I can see that the English could easily transpose into this. I actually played my game with that in mind, though my opponent never pushed d4, so I didn't know if I should proceed as if it were the same opening. 

it seems you don't mind semislavs pawnstructures so i would recommend these lines

You can research the Cambridge Springs and the Meran a little further if you like although if I were you I would only research up to move 15 at the very most, usually move 10 should be enough for your level.

You could try for e6 on the first move and develop as though it were a QGD line (if that's what you play against d4). Odds are white will eventually push d4 eventually to which you can answer d5, although it can get very theoritical depending on the line white plays. Playing c6 is a similar goal, except to transpose into the slav as opposed to the QGD. Generally, e5 is the typical response to the "English opening" to keep it english and not transpose into a QGD, or the various Queen's pawns openings (or nimzovich defense, grunfeld, etc.). If you can, Roman Dzindzichashvili has a great series on the English you should check out.