Exit 5 is Stairs only.

[kadioguy]

[A notice from the Taipei metro]

It looks weird to me to say "Exit 5 is Stairs only."

I'd say "Exit 5 has stairs only."

What do you think?

 

[tedmc]

[A notice from the Taipei metro]

It looks weird to me to say "Exit 5 is Stairs only."

I'd say "Exit 5 has stairs only."

What do you think?

The original is correct even though the Chinese version literally translates to "Exit 5 has stairs", which doesn't work in English.

The alternative is "Exit 5 uses stairs/staircase".

 

[emsr2d2]

Neither the original nor ted's version are natural in everyday English. A sign here would say:

Exit 5 - Stairs Only

 

[tedmc]

Neither the original nor ted's version are natural in everyday English. A sign here would say:

Exit 5 - Stairs Only

How would you put it in a sentence?

 

[kadioguy]

How would you put it in a sentence?

a. The exit 5 is stairs only.
b. The exit 5 only has stairs.
c. The exit 5 only uses stairs.

A friend told me that all of them work.

 

[Tarheel]

a. Exit 5 is stairs only.
b. Exit 5 only has stairs.
c. The exit 5 only uses stairs.

A friend told me that all of them work.

Exits don't use stairs. People do. The third one doesn't work.

 

[tedmc]

Exits don't use stairs. People do. The third one doesn't work.

Can exits has/possess stairs then?

 

[Tarheel]

Can exits have/possess stairs then?

In a sense, yes. In this case "has stairs" means that's what's there.

 

[tedmc]

In a sense, yes. In this case "has stairs" means that's what's there.

If that is the case, "use" can also be used.

 

[jutfrank]

How would you put it in a sentence?

If you were informing someone verbally, you'd say Exit 5 is stairs only.

I think what's confusing you here, kadioguy, is that you're thinking of stairs only in the wrong way, grammatically speaking. You have to think of it as if it were an adjective phrase, similar to Exit 5 is closed. The predicates 'closed' and 'stairs only' function as something like labels, which is why a sign wouldn't use a verb at all, as emsr2d2 says in post #3.

 

[Tarheel]

If that is the case, "use" can also be used.

I don't know why you say that. An exit has stairs in the same way a house has rooms. (Houses don't use things either.)