What does lately mean?
Word: Lately
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: Lately means in the last few days or weeks; not long ago.
Synonyms: of late
Antonyms: long ago
How do you spell lately?
Syllables: late - ly
Tricky part: The e of late stays when ly is added: latly, without it, is the usual slip.
Watch out for: latly, laitly
Memory tip: Late does not lose its e here: keep the whole word late at the front.
Lately in a sentence
Example 1: Have you seen Priya lately?
Example 2: Lately the mornings in Shimla have been foggy.
Example 3: I have been reading a lot of mystery novels lately.
Fun Fact
Lately does not mean late. 'He arrived late' is about being behind time, but 'He has been busy lately' means he has been busy in the last few weeks.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word lately as used in the sentence:
Our neighbour's dog has lately been barking all through the night.
a) loudly
b) recently
c) rarely
d) never
Show answer
b) recently. Lately points to the last few days or weeks, which is recently.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
latelly
a) y
b) l
c) t
d) e
Show answer
b) l. Late takes just one l before the y: late + ly.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to find the right word:
My little brother has been very quiet tyleal.
a) lately
b) neatly
c) tally
d) lastly
Show answer
a) lately. Two l's and no s or n: that is lately, not lastly or neatly, and tally is too short.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. lately 2. frequently 3. ocasionally 4. usually
a) during the recent past
b) in most cases
c) many times
d) now and then, but not often
Show answer
d) now and then, but not often. Occasion has two c's and one s, so ocasionally is the slip.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In 'I have not slept well lately', the word lately tells us ____.
a) when
b) why
c) how much
d) where
Show answer
a) when
2. Which phrase could replace lately in 'Prices have gone up lately'?
a) at the very end
b) next summer
c) in recent weeks
d) many years ago
Show answer
c) in recent weeks
