Why can't I edit with MS Word on my Apple computer?

Dear @Marian Brailsford

Thank you so much for contacting Microsoft Q&A Support. 

I really understand your inconvenience with editing MS Word on Mac. Therefore, I have tried to find in all material documents from Microsoft that may help you, please consider trying them: 

1.Clear the Word cache folder: 

Open Finder > press Command + Shift + G > input ~/Library/Containers, remove Microsoft Word (in Big Sur) or com.microsoft.Word(in Catalina) folder to the desktop. Then, reopen Word and create a new document to check the behavior. 

 2.Run in Safe Mode: 

This step helps rule out any interference from third-party apps or background programs that might be clashing with Microsoft Word. For more info, check out How to use a "clean startup" to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac - Microsoft Support. Also, take a look at the Apple article linked at the end for detailed instructions on how to do it. 

 3.Ensure Word is updated to 16.59: 

Just head over to your Applications folder, drag Microsoft Word.app to the Trash, and then install the latest version to see if the issue is still there. You can grab the newest version from Microsoft’s official site here: Update history for Office for Mac - Office release notes | Microsoft Learn 

Reference: Drag to select text not working (Word for Mac) - Microsoft Community 

Also, I find several articles that you can consult more: 

• Word for Mac - can't drag to select text - Microsoft Community 
• Click and drag to select specific text - Microsoft Community 

I hope this information can help you to have a better experience with MS Word and I really appreciate for your patience in this matter.

Wish you a pleasant day!

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Did you see Bob Jones's reply in the thread at https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/click-and-drag-to-select-specific-text/6596a5fe-5f04-43f7-bd8b-08e9c6ee0508 (quoted below)?

Have you tried simply restarting the Mac? If that doesn't clear it up... Due to the way Microsoft & Apple are doing things "up to date" doesn't mean very much :-) Please provide the specific Version of Office as indicated in Word> About Microsoft Word as well as indicating the exact version of macOS as indicated in **> About This Mac**. Causes & cures can vary based on those specifications. Additionally, do you have any add-ins [such as Grammarly]? Some alternative selection techniques to consider:

• Click at the start, scroll if necessary, then hold Shift while you click at the end of the passage
• To select a word double-click the word
• To select an entire sentence beginning to end hold the Command key while clicking anywhere in the sentence.
• To select an entire paragraph triple-click anywhere within it

All of the above can be extended on the same basis by using the Shift-Click method. E.g., Command-click a sentence then Shift-click in another to include it as well as all sentences in between. The left margin is a selection area as well:

• Click to the left of a line to select the line
• Double-click to select the adjacent paragraph
• Triple-click or Command-click to Select All
• Drag down (or up) in the margin to select line-by-line

Unfortunately, dragging is the first & only method most users pick up on their own, so that's what they're most comfortable with. Introducing other methods may seem awkward at first but soon become second nature.Have you tried simply restarting the Mac? If that doesn't clear it up...