In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Hi!
Conversation
A: Is Alice available? B: You’re talking to her. A: I’ve called you a hundred times today. B: I was busy doing something. I apologize. A: No problem. B: Did you need something? A: Do you want to do something tomorrow? B: Is there somewhere special you wanted to go? A: How about a movie? B: A movie sounds good.
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What does “Do you want to do something tomorrow?” mean?
Does it mean “Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?”?
WhyI ask this question? ← ← ←
Because “B” says: Is there somewhere special you wanted to go?
A asks about doing some thing B asks if there is some place special to go.
Something refers to an activity.
Someplace refers specifically to a place.
While they do not have the exact same meaning, they are often used interchangeably. The two people talking would not even notice the difference in wording.
Do you want to go shopping? (something) Do you want to go to the mall? (someplace)
In both cases, you can assume the other. If you go shopping, you assume it will be at a place. If you go to the mall, you can assume you will shop. This is why they are often used interchangeably.
In the rare case that there is some confusion, you can simply ask for a clarification.
“Do you want to get together tomorrow for some activity?”
The speaker, A, isn’t proposing anything specific, just the idea of getting together. It could even be as simple as just hanging out together.
Then, rather than make a suggestion for something to do , Alice, turns the question back to “A”, to see if they actually had something specific in mind.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. 