Lateis both an adverb and an adjective; it means theopposite ofearly.Latelyis also an adverb; it means ‘recently’.
Latemeaning ‘not on time’
Lateas an adverb means ‘not on time’:
Well, I couldn’t find my classroom, so I got to the classroom a bitlateand then I had to sing a song in front of the other students!
Not:I got to the classroom a bit lately…
The programme startedlate.
Not:The programme started lately.
Lateas an adjective means ‘after the usual time’:
We had alatebreakfast.
| describes when the activity happened |
| describes the train |
Latelymeaning ‘recently’
We uselatelyfor states or for repeated events, mostly with the present perfect:
She says she’s been feeling tiredlately. I think she’s working too much.
He’s been studying hardlately. He’s got exams at the end of the month.
We don’t uselatelyfor single events that happened recently:
I had a strange experiencerecently.
Not:I had a strange experience lately.
We don’t uselatelyas an adjective:
We usually have alatelunch.
Not: …a lately lunch.
See also:
Adjectives
Adverbs