come to grips with the pandemic

[alpacinou]

Hello,

Can "come to grips with" mean handle a difficult problem? Have I used it correctly in this sentence? Is the sentence OK?

The governments around the globe have been taken by surprise and haven't been able to come to grips with the pandemic/with the virus(?) yet. I think it will take some time for the governments and companies and also citizens to come to grips with the outbreak of this virus and mount a proper response.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, it's "get to grips with" so I find the original unnatural.

 

[alpacinou]

In BrE, it's "get to grips with" so I find the original unnatural.

Is this OK?

The governments around the globe have been taken by surprise and haven't been able to get to grips with the pandemic/with the virus(?) yet. I think it will take some time for the governments and companies and also citizens to get to grips with the outbreak of this virus and mount a proper response.

 

[tedmc]

"Come to grips with something" reminds me of "take the bull by the horns", which mean to face a difficult situation decisively and sensibly.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/come+to+grips+with

 

[alpacinou]

I still don't know if this is okay:

Is this OK?

The governments around the globe have been taken by surprise and haven't been able to get to grips with the pandemic/with the virus(?) yet. I think it will take some time for the governments and companies and also citizens to get to grips with the outbreak of this virus and mount a proper response.

 

[Tarheel]

I still don't know if this is okay:

Is this OK?

[STRIKE]The[/STRIKE] Governments around the globe have been taken by surprise and haven't been able to come to grips with the pandemic/with the virus(?) yet. I think it will take some time for [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] governments and companies and also citizens to come to grips with the outbreak of this virus and mount a proper response.

You can only be surprised for so long. You might want to use a different phrase. Maybe they were caught unprepared.

 

[alpacinou]

You can only be surprised for so long. You might want to use a different phrase. Maybe they were caught unprepared.

I decided to have two separate sentences. Are they okay?

1. Governments around the globe have been caught unprepared and haven't been able to come to grips with the pandemic yet.

2. I think it will take some time for governments and companies and also citizens to come to grips with the outbreak of this virus and mount a proper response.

 

[Tarheel]

1. Yes. 2. Rather than all that verbiage you could just say people.

 

[alpacinou]

Just to be clear the two sentences are completely okay and natural, right?

1. Governments around the globe have been caught unprepared and haven't been able to come to grips with the pandemic yet.

2. I think it will take some time for people to come to grips with the outbreak of this virus and mount a proper response.