“Late” is not the same as “lately.”

Late is the opposite of early. They are both adjectives, and must modify nouns.

• “James will be late today. He will arrive after the meeting begins.”

Lately means recently, or close to now. Lately is an adverb.

• “I’ve taken a lot of classes in English lately.”

Lately can also move around in the sentence, like other adverbs:

• “Lately, I’ve taken a lot of English classes.”