You should understand the principle of magnet and magnetism to understand the working of electric motors. Any conductor in which electric current passes and that cuts the magnetic field will get deflected. This is the principle in which the electric motor works. If you have used magnets you would have found that opposite poles attract and the like poles repel.
In an electric motor you will see a rotating electro magnet or a rotating permanent magnet. This rotor is encircled by conductors usually made of copper. When an electric current passes through these conductors and when a magnet is there in the center, the conductors deflect and the rotary motion is induced. The magnet that is found in the center could be a permanent magnet or the one that becomes a magnet when an electric current is passed through it (electromagnet). Most of the large motors have electromagnet in them and in some like cars, a permanent magnet is found.
[tags]Coil, Alternator, Electromagnet[/tags]