In the seventh century B.C., the Roman alphabet was adapted from the Etruscan alphabet, which in turn had been adapted in the previous century from a western Greek alphabet, which itself had been adapted earlier in the same century from the Phoenician alphabet.
In the seventh century B.C., the Roman alphabet was adapted from the Etruscan
alphabet, which in turn had been adapted in the previous century from a western
Greek alphabet, which itself had been adapted earlier in the same century from the
Phoenician alphabet.
(A) which itself had been adapted earlier
(B) adapting itself earlier
(C) itself being adapted earlier
(D) having been earlier adapted itself
(E) earlier itself having been adapted
求学霸们帮帮忙 很想知道CDE里面的反身代词itself哪里不对。OG解释的太绕口了 看不太懂。
Without commas around itself, the pronoun appears to be reflexive. The combination of passive and reflexive then makes no sense. If itself is intended simply for emphasis, rather than as a reflexive pronoun, it would be preferable, in this context, to set it off with commas. But if it were intended in that way, it would seem to refer to the Roman alphabet, and the claim made in the sentence would be confusing and nearly nonsensical. This modifier is confusingly placed before the designation of time (in the same
century) and source (from the Phoenician alphabet).