Question

Read the excerpt from Act I of Hamlet.

Hamlet: What hour now?
Horatio: *I think it lacks of twelve.*
Marcellus: No, it is struck.

Which is the best adaptation of the underlined part of the excerpt?

I think it is exactly twelve.
I think it is after twelve.
I think twelve will never come.
I think it is before twelve.

Answer 1

I’m pretty sure your answer is 4. I think it is before twelve.

Answer 2

The correct answer is option D. The best adaptation of the phrase "I think it lacks of twelve" is: I thinks it is before twelve.

According to the modern text, in Act 1, Scene 4 of the play Hamlet, Horatio answers to Hamlet's question by expressing that he thinks that the time is a little before twelve. The modern text reads: "A little before twelve, I think".