Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics, directly relating the forces acting on a body to the motion of the body.
Newton's first law  states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. The key point here is that if there is  no net force acting on an object (if all the external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant velocity. If that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is applied, the velocity will change because of the force.
  The second law explains how the velocity of an   object changes when it is subjected to an external force.   The law defines a force to be equal to change in momentum (mass   times velocity) per change in time. Newton also developed the calculus of mathematics,   and the "changes" expressed in the second law are most accurately   defined in differential   forms. (Calculus can also be used to determine the velocity and location variations   experienced by an object subjected to an external force.) For an object with   a constant mass m, the second law states that the   force F is the product   of an object's mass and its acceleration a: 
    F = ma
Force=mass acceleration
     For an external applied   force, the change in velocity depends on the mass of the object. A force will   cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in velocity will generate   a force. The equation works both ways.
  The third law states that for every action (force)   in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object   A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal force on object   A. Notice that the forces are exerted on different objects. The third law can   be used to explain the generation of lift by a wing   and the production of thrust by a jet engine.
reference taken from:http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton.html