Upstairs and Downstairs

Upstairs and downstairs are not used with to/in/at etc. They are mainly adverbs, but they are also used as adjectives and nouns.

As adverb:

  • He went upstairs to answer the phone. (NOT to upstairs)
  • The people who live upstairs are very noisy.

As adjective:

  • My room is upstairsĀ (NOT in upstairs)
  • The dining room and kitchen are upstairs. (NOT in upstairs)
  • The upstair(s) rooms. (often without the final ‘s’)

As noun:

  • She’s cleaning the upstairs.
  • The upstairs of this house is for sale.

The above rules are equally applicable to ‘downstairs’ also.

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