The first two tools on the toolbar are the selection tools.

The first selection tool is the selection tool ( Hotkey (V) this means if you have nothing selected you can type "v" and you will get this tool).

This tool will feel the most familiar, it will grab items on the workspace. You can click and hold to make boxes to select multiple items.

You can also hold CTRL and single click to grab multiple items.

The next tool is the Direct Selection Tool. It will allow you to grab a single point on an object and manipulate it.

If you click+hold the direct selection tool you will see 2 more tools hidden here, the group selection tool and the lasso tool.

The group selection tool is used when objects are grouped together, objects must be grouped for it to work.

The lasso tool allows you to draw a shape around whatever objects, or parts of objects you want to select.