common fingers

Guitarists make chord forms with the fingers of their fretting hand. The sound made when strings are plucked or strummed while holding these forms in place are called chords. Chords are what you hear, forms are what you make with your fingers. 

Let's fool around with a chord form. Find the middle finger of your fretting hand and use it to hold down the first string at the second fret.

The joints of that finger ought to be bent a little, or a lot. Stand the end of that finger up as straight as it will go, using the very tip to hold down the string. A long fingernail will make this difficult.

While keeping that finger in place, use the ring finger of your fretting hand to hold the second string down at the third fret. Making them both stand up as straight as they will go, your hand and fingers will naturally curl around the neck of your guitar. So far so good.

Take note of the relationship between your ring and middle fingers and the fret positions which they occupy; your middle finger at the second fret, ringer finger at the third. For as long as you play your guitar and are changing from one chord form to another, you'll be looking for a thing called common fingers. This refers to finger-shapes common to more than one chord form.

The shape your two fingers are making right now is not by itself, a chord form. But it's a shape that is common to different chord forms that we'll use here in the early going, and that you'll use the rest of your guitar life.