Can I use these interchangeably?

We used to date.
We dated before.
We used to go out.

Question

Can I use these interchangeably?

We used to date.
We dated before.
We used to go out.

Answer

Hey there! 1 and 3 are very natural. 2 is odd (as ‘before’ needs to link to a time - it doesn’t necessarily link to the present).

From personal experience, ‘we used to date’ is the most common. ‘We used to go out’ is a popular equivalent in the UK. 😊

Answer

Yes, these all have the same meaning. We dated before is the weakest - 'before' what? We understand you mean before now, but the other two sound more natural.

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