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late ~ lately

“Late” (adjective & adverb) means ‘arriving, having something, happening after the usual or expected or appointed time; new, just arrived, etc.’,

e.g.

He is a late comer.

(‘comer’ – noun; ‘late’ – adjective)

He comes late.

(‘comes’ – verb; ‘late’ – adverb)

e.g.

That the President lost the election is late news.

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“Lately” (adverb) means ‘recently; in the recent past’,

e.g.

Have you been to your hometown lately?

{Note: ‘Late’ has the same form as an adjective and an adverb; ‘lately’ is the adverb form of ‘late’ in the sense: ‘recent’, and therefore, ‘late’ and ‘lately’ are not interchangeable.}

Common Errors:

1.

The best book I read lately is “Animal World”.   [wrong]

The best book I have read lately is “Animal World”.   [right]

2.

Lately someone tipped off the police that a terrorist was hiding in their locality.    [wrong]

Recently someone tipped off the police that a terrorist was hiding in their locality. [right]

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