* It represents a specific year: Like "Monday" or "July," it acts as a label for a unique point in time.
* It can function as the subject or object of a sentence:
* "1936 was a turbulent year for Europe." (Subject)
* "The Olympics were held in Berlin in 1936." (Object of the preposition "in")
However, it's not a *common* noun like "cat" or "table." It's a proper noun, specifically a year designation. This means it refers to a unique entity and should be capitalized.