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Alex+ Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary
up the stairs / upstairs
Which sentence is more common? Is there any difference between the two patterns?
She's walking up the stairs. / She's walking upstairs.
She's walking down the stairs. / She's walking downstairs.
She's walking up the stairs. / She's walking upstairs.
She's walking down the stairs. / She's walking downstairs.
Top answer
Upstairs/downstairs are only used for interior situations, not stairs that might be outside a building for example. They also refer to going up or down one floor only - so in a large building if you had to visit an office 5 floors away, you wouldn't normally use them. Upstairs/downstairs are locations - the destination up stairs/down stairs relate to the action.
- Upstairs/downstairs are only used for interior situations, not stairs that might be outside a building for example.
- They also refer to going up or down one floor only - so in a large building if you had to visit an office 5 floors away, you wouldn't normally use them.
- Upstairs/downstairs are locations - the destination up stairs/down stairs relate to the action.
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5 Answers
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Upstairs/downstairs are only used for interior situations, not stairs that might be outside a building for example. They also refer to going up or down one floor only - so in a large building if you had to visit an office 5 floors away, you wouldn't normally use them.
Upstairs/downstairs are locations - the destination
up stairs/down stairs relate to the action.
Upstairs/downstairs are locations - the destination
up stairs/down stairs relate to the action.
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Here's one differentiation: I walk up the stairs rather than take the elevator; I left my briefcase upstairs.
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A building or home can have an upstairs and a downstairs.
Go upstairs to see the bedrooms (noun)
It can also be an adjective
"We have an upstairs bedroom (adjective modifying bedroom) you can use, but you will have to carry your luggage up the stairs. (adverbial prepositional phrase)
Go upstairs to see the bedrooms (noun)
It can also be an adjective
"We have an upstairs bedroom (adjective modifying bedroom) you can use, but you will have to carry your luggage up the stairs. (adverbial prepositional phrase)
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You could technically walk up a ramp to get upstairs too. So saying "walking up the stairs" is about how she's getting there (using the stairs), and "walking upstairs" is about when she's going to (the next floor up). You could even say "she walked up the stairs to get upstairs" if you wanted to say both things without it being a tautology.
In most cases though they would be interchangea
In most cases though they would be interchangea
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