Is Pages useless?

Pages can export documents as Microsoft Word Documents so you can share them with other people that use Word and not Pages.

Link-> Export to Word, PDF, or another file format in Pages on Mac - Apple Support

But if people you need to share documents with use Word, it may be a good idea to actually have Microsoft Word.

There are other free alternatives such as LibreOffice and Open Office, you may want to try.

Do note, if you need very good compatibility for Word documents and support for very Word specific features then, getting Microsoft Word may be your only choice. As Pages translation may not be 100% in some more rare cases. Also Font differences may cause the documents to look slightly different.

You are not penalized for exploring the File menu and discovering the formats on the Export panel. Also, the Share menu has a Send a Copy > Mail > Send via Mail panel and Next… to attach a PDF or Word document to an email.

See Pages - Official Apple Support

and in particular: Pages User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

Lynita wrote:

I used to have Word but the new transition ( which I made under duress) wiped it out and now it wants me to pay again.

If I am sending to users of Word and others who have Pages, will Word be receivable by both of them? This situation with Pages is just another reason that I cuss myself out for getting sucked in by Apple. It makes me feel like an American who insists on speaking English in France.

Yes. Pages can also open Word files. So if you send the file in Word format, Pages users can also open it.