upstairs
upstairs — adverb
1. toward or on the floor that is above the one where you are now, inside a buildin
toward or on the floor that is above the one where you are now, inside a building with more than one level.
The children ran upstairs to brush their teeth before bed.
SVO pattern: run upstairs + infinitive of purpose
Naoko could hear someone playing piano upstairs in the neighbor's apartment.
passive perception: hear + [someone] + [verb]-ing + upstairs
The landlord asked the movers to carry the heavy sofa upstairs.
My grandmother's bedroom is upstairs at the end of the hallway.
- up the stairs
more literal and directional; emphasises the staircase itself rather than the floor
- on the upper floor
more formal; focuses on location rather than direction
- downstairs
toward or on a lower floor
文法句型
verb + upstairs
be + upstairs
常見錯誤
2. in a person's mind or relating to their intelligence — for example, saying someo
in a person's mind or relating to their intelligence — for example, saying someone is 'sharp upstairs' means they are clever, while 'not much upstairs' means they are not very bright.
Amira is very sharp upstairs — she solved the whole crossword in under five minutes.
informal: [be] sharp upstairs = intelligent
The coach said his star player was strong upstairs and did not crack under pressure.
informal: [be] strong upstairs = mentally resilient
The boss said the new intern did not have much upstairs and needed extra training.
Christopher is quick upstairs — he always finds clever shortcuts in his programming code.
- mentally
neutral register; standard in formal and academic contexts
- intellectually
formal; focuses on reasoning ability rather than general mental state
文法句型
[be] + adjective + upstairs
[have] + noun + upstairs
用法筆記
Informal. This sense is used in casual expressions about a person's mental or intellectual ability ('sharp upstairs,' 'not much upstairs,' 'slow upstairs'). It is not suitable for formal or academic writing.
常見錯誤
upstairs — noun
1. the level or levels in a building that you reach by going up the stairs, often u
the level or levels in a building that you reach by going up the stairs, often used for bedrooms and private rooms.
The upstairs of the house has three bedrooms and a bathroom.
article + 'upstairs of [building]' as subject
Smoke from the kitchen fire quickly spread to the upstairs.
prepositional: 'to the upstairs' as object of preposition
Eve lives in the upstairs of the old Victorian house on Maple Street.
The landlord renovated the upstairs and added a second bathroom.
- upper floor
neutral, slightly more formal than 'upstairs'
- top floor
refers specifically to the highest floor, not all upper floors
- downstairs
the lower floor or floors of a building
文法句型
the upstairs
the upstairs of [building]
from the upstairs
to the upstairs
upstairs — adjective
1. located on or relating to a floor that is above the ground floor in a building.
located on or relating to a floor that is above the ground floor in a building.
The upstairs window was left open during the storm.
attributive: upstairs + noun describing a feature
Rania hung a large mirror on the wall of the upstairs hallway.
attributive: upstairs + noun describing a location
The upstairs neighbors have a dog that barks every time the doorbell rings.
The upstairs balcony overlooks the garden and the hills beyond.
- upper
broader meaning; can describe any higher position, not just floors in a building
- downstairs
located on a lower floor
文法句型
upstairs + noun
用法筆記
Unlike the adverb form, the adjective always comes immediately before the noun it describes. You can say 'the upstairs window' but not 'the window upstairs' (which would be an adverb).