Beginner really struggling

I am really struggling to learn photoshop. I am trying to follow tutorials and virtually everything i try and learn from selection tools to layer masks is impossible because my photoshop doesn't do what the tutorials show. For example today I have tried to remove a sublect from the background. I cannot press 'delete' to remove the selected section. Nothing happens.

When i try and create a new transparent canvas there is no option for 'transparent' only white, black or background colour. I tried to move the selected subject onto a new white background and nothing appears.

This is just a snippet of the mountain of problems I encounter everytime I try & learn something. I have been trying for years and just get increasingly upset, give up and walk away for ages. How on earth do people learn without someone showing them? Feeling very stupid and fed up :0( I am using PS CC 2017