[Grammar] Why have you used the symbols in red above?

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kadioguy

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Why have you used the symbols in red above? There should be nothing before "Which" and there should be a question mark at the end of each question.
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/277258-Reported-Speech?p=1566127&viewfull=1#post1566127

I am wondering about the tense. Didn't this happen in the past
(i.e. before emsr2d2's reply)? How about saying these?

-----
Why did you use the symbols in red above? There should have been nothing before "Which" and there should have been a question mark at the end of each question.
-----

What do you think?
 

SoothingDave

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It still should be as she said.
 

SoothingDave

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"Should have been" is a possible way to say it. But it is needlessly wordy. They should be.
 

GoesStation

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The angle brackets and slashes were wrong. At the time of writing, in the present, and in the future, no punctuation before "Which" and a question mark at the end would be correct.
 

kadioguy

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Thank you both. :)

And how about the "Why have you used the symbols in red above?" part?

Compare it to "Why did you use the symbols in red above?"
 

SoothingDave

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They both have the same meaning.
 

GoesStation

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And how about the "Why have you used the symbols in red above?" part?

Compare it to "Why did you use the symbols in red above?"
As an American English-speaker, I'd be more likely to use the past simple. I think British English-speakers tend to favor the present perfect here but I'm not sure.
 
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