Set

Probably not always. Certainly it is risky to do so with no context.

WIthout context, what difference would you find in them, GPY?

TakaWIthout context, what difference would you find in them, GPY?

It is hard with no context. Possibly "set" seems more procedural. "fixed" can also mean physically fixed or secured, which is not so likely with "set".

Which do you think would work for phone numbers? Based on your explanation, such things seem to be "set things" rather than "fixed things", but certainly "fixed numbers" is commonly used, isn't it?

And which is closer to such things as "grammatical rules"? Are grammatical rules set or fixed things?

The phrase "set things" is used almost exclusively in the following idiomatic-type expression:

I set things right.

You might hear it sometimes in a sentence like:

I'll set things straight on the shelf.

The phrase "fixed things" can mean something similar to "set things";

I fixed things up with him. (That is: I set things right with him. However you

akaWhich do you think would work for phone numbers? Based on your explanation, such things seem to be "set things" rather than "fixed things", but certainly "fixed numbers" is commonly used, isn't it?

Oh, I thought you literally meant the phrases "fixed things" and "set things". If you put in arbitrary nouns then there will probably be a number of set phr

GPYOh, I thought you literally meant the phrases "fixed things" and "set things".

Yes, I did. This is about a man who is not good at remembering things decided by others, not by himself; he is poor at remembering phone numbers, and in the same way, he doesn't like memorizing grammatical rules; numbers and rules are not something he has decided, and he do

AnonymousThe phrase "set things" is used almost exclusively in the following idiomatic-type expression:I set things right. You might hear it sometimes in a sentence like:I'll set things straight on the shelf.The phrase "fixed things" can mean something similar to "set things";I fixed things up with him. (That is: I set things right with him. However you cannot say: I fixe

TakaYes, I did. This is about a man who is not good at remembering things decided by others, not by himself; he is poor at remembering phone numbers, and in the same way, he doesn't like memorizing grammatical rules; numbers and rules are not something he has decided, and he doesn't like to remember such things.I've been wondering how I should generalize such things. Is h

So roughly speaking, both would work somehow for that meaning, but neither of them is really clear.

Is that what you mean, GPY?