I forgot to mention this in my first post. While I don't use Massive I've played around with it on occasion and I wouldn't really recommend starting out with it. If you want to get into learning subtractive synthesis I really recommend you find yourself a freeware subtractive synth to play around with first. TAL-NoiseMaker is a great one to start out with regardless if you are on Windows or Mac, if you are on Windows there is also Synth1 which is pretty popular as far as freeware goes on Windows. There are actually several great freeware subtractive synths available, any of which would probably be a better starting point for getting your mind around synthesis than Massive, due to the bare basics of their layout. Also don't underestimate the power synths that don't have flashy features, you'll be surprised the number of sounds you can get out of 1/2/3 oscillators and a filter alone.
Once you understand subtractive synthesis though you will have a better understanding of how the rest of synthesis works. Subtractive synthesis is the most basic form of synthesis and many synths and samplers be they FM, Additive, Granular, Wavetable, Physical Modelling, etc will have similar/familiar controls available to you to shape your sounds.