Revised as of
11 Nov 2022
I know. It’s not an obvious distinction, and probably more glaring to editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders. The only other possibility for which I can see using down and stairs separately is if the author really wanted to make a point, as in “You will go. Down. Stairs. NOW.”
Besides, think how odd Upstairs, Downstairs would look . . .
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Down the Stairs | Downstairs |
|---|---|
.jpg "Looking down the stairs")
Downstairs – La Merced by Roger Price © 2009 from Hong Kong was uploaded by Fæ and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Looking down the stairs. |
.jpg)
Inside Main Downstairs Atrium by Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland from Deutschland is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — The downstairs atrium. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adverb Phrase | Adverb; Adjective; Noun |
| See “downstairs”
Use only with the between the words, i.e., down the stairs |
Always use it with a singular verb
Adverb: Down a flight of stairs Down the stairs Adjective: Noun: |
| Examples: | |
| Take a right, then go down the stairs.
Head on down the stairs. Go down the stairs, you idiot, not up them. |
Adverb: Head on downstairs. I raced my friend downstairs. She waited downstairs while her parents were getting dressed. Adjective: Use the downstairs phone. Talk to the downstairs maid. Noun: It’s a downstairs room. He went downstairs and into the kitchen. His two older sisters slept downstairs, for they had to be up first. |
| History of the Word: | |
| First noted in the mid-1500s. | |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Down Stairs versus Downstairs
Apple Dictionary.com
The Free Dictionary: downstairs
Your Dictionary.com: downstairs
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Cow Going Down Stairs at City Market, Bangalore, May 2008, by Kiran Jonnalagadda from Bangalore, India, and is under the CC-BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
