'Recover from surprise' or 'Pull yourself together (after surprise)' ?

[99bottles]

'He quickly recovered from surprise/pulled himself together and answered...'

How should I say it?

 

[Raymott]

"Recovered" is probably better, given that there is no context, and pulling oneself together is not necessarily something that one needs to do after a surprise.

 

[99bottles]

"Recovered" is probably better, given that there is no context, and pulling oneself together is not necessarily something that one needs to do after a surprise.

Are you sure? I googled it and found that...
-Recover is after a disease.
-Pull oneself together is after sadness.
That's why I asked you what goes with surprise.

 

[Rover_KE]

We're sure.

 

[GoesStation]

Both "recovered" and "pulled himself together" are possible, but the former is the only one I'd use without more context. He could pull himself together if we had just been told that he'd been (metaphorically) falling apart in some fashion.

One definition of "recover" means "to get better after an illness or injury". It has many other meanings.

You can pull yourself together after succumbing to all sorts of negative conditions: sadness, anxiety, alcohol or drug addiction, etc.

 

[YAMATO2201]

Is the following sentence of mine natural?

Mary still has not recovered from the shock of her brother's death.

 

[GoesStation]

Is the following sentence of mine natural?

Mary still has not recovered from the shock of her brother's death.

Yes, it's perfect.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's OK, but I prefer to put 'still' after 'has.

Mary has still not recovered ...

(Cross-posted—only a slight difference of opinion)