Here's what I've found so far, about "where and somewhere"

Question

Here's what I've found so far, about "where and somewhere".

1. I'd like to go somewhere where there is a lot of people.

"Somewhere" means Unknown or Unspecified places that I might or could choose to go to, which is what I want to say here.So I think it's right.

But, how about this?

2. I'd like to go to somewhere where there is a lot of people.

This could be not right, because "somewhere" could be like "at/in/to(prepositions) a place" in many situation. So, if I say "to somewhere", it could be like "to to somewhere", which is not right.

And, what about "where""

3. I'd like to go where there is a lot of people.

I think "where" means one known and specified or definite place that both the speaker and the listener might know. This is not grammatically wrong, but the implication is kind of awkward, so I think is not right.

But how about this?

4. I'd like to go to where there is a lot of people.

I think it's right. "Somewhere" could be like "a place where", so if I say like "to somewhere", it could be awkward. but "where" is not like that. I would like to stick to using "preposition + where" form.

If my guess is not right, could you let me know the difference between where and somewhere ?

Answer 1

A couple of things. First:

I'd like to go where there is a lot of people.

should be:

I'd like to go where there are a lot of people.

In this case, where there are refers to people, not a lot, which is a modifier of people. Because people is a plural noun, you use are instead of is.

Where in your example is more appropriate usage because you are using the word as a qualifier. Somewhere in this context is used as a noun. You could, for instance, say:

I want to go somewhere.

or

I want to go somewhere (that) I have never been.

In these cases somewhere does not refer to any place in particular, it is a generic destination. The first statement is general, e.g. a generic place meaning "not where I am right now", and can be taken literally or metaphorically. The second is again a generic place, but qualified by the phrase that follows.

In relation to your question about go to, you would generally use go to with a specific destination in mind, e.g.:

I want to go to town.

or

I want to go to the biggest city in the state.

although this destination, as with somewhere, can be metaphorical:

I want to go to Funkytown.

You would not use go to where, although you might say:

I want to go to a place where ...

because going to refers to a destination, of which where is a qualifier, although more strictly in traditional english you would use "that" rather than where as a limiter:

I want to go to a place that has a large population.

If you really want to understand the differences in these words, I suggest reading travel literature - newspaper travel sections, books, blogs, etc.