(1) lately意为“最近，不久前”，所指时间可以与现在有联系，也可以无联系。前者用现在完成时或一般现在时；后者用过去时。通常用于否定句、疑问句，或与only连用，也可用在 as lately as短语中。

• A: Have you been to Shanghai lately ?
  你最近去上海了吗？
  B: No, I haven't been there lately.
   没有，我最近没去。
• It's only lately that she has been well enough to go out.
  只是在最近她的健康才恢复得可以外出了。
• I saw him as lately as last Sunday; he made no reference to it.
  上星期天我还看见他呢，他根本没提这事。
• He was grieved to think he had lately seen so little of his parents.
  一想到最近不常去看望父母他就难过。

 (2) ①late与early相对，意思是“迟，晚”，还可表示“到很晚，到夜深”。

• Yesterday he came to school too late and missed the first lesson.
  昨天他来上学太晚了，误了第一节课。
• I arrived at the railway station half an hour late and missed my train.
  我到火车站晚了半小时，误了火车。
• Tired as she was, she sat up late preparing her lessons.
  尽管她很疲劳，她还是熬夜到很晚预习功课。

②late还可组成词语as late as，意思与as lately as相同。

• I met her as late as last week, but she didn't say a word about her husband going abroad.
  上周我还见到她，但她对丈夫出国一事只字未提。

 (3) of late, recently意思都是“最近，近来”，与lately差不多，在使用时态上也与lately相同。三者常可换用。

• His health seemed to have improved considerably when I visited him of late/recently .
  我最近拜访他时，他的健康似乎大大改善了。
• I haven't seen Prof. Smith of late/recently/lately .
  最近我没见到过史密斯教授。
• They have only come here just recently .
  他们不久前才来到这里。