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Jack112 Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Lately

0 1. I have been busy lately. 02br
002. I 01b00was02b00 busy lately. (Is this incorrect? 'Lately' goes from the past to present? I think I saw this in stories before? Why is that? If this is correct, how does it compare with #1?) 02br
02br
00Thanks. 0-
  

Top answer

0No, #2 is awkward if not downright impossible. 'Lately', like 'recently', highly collocates with present perfect, as it indicates a period of time conceptuallyending at the moment of speaking. 0-

— Mister Micawber

  • 0No, #2 is awkward if not downright impossible.
  • 'Lately', like 'recently', highly collocates with present perfect, as it indicates a period of time conceptuallyending at the moment of speaking.
  • 0-
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10 Answers
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0No, #2 is awkward if not downright impossible. 'Lately', like 'recently', highly collocates with present perfect, as it indicates a period of time conceptuallyending at the moment of speaking. 0-
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0 I do agree with you, MrM, but there are thousands of "was lately" on Google. How come? It doesn't sound right at all. Could it be compared with the use of "just" with the simple past? 0-
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0It seems to be for the same reason that 'recently' appears with the past tense-- the writer is referring to a completed event: 02br
02br
00I recently heard that Willa Cather died. 02br
00A steamboat was lately launched at Sackett's Harbor. 02br
02br
01i00Quirk & Greenbaum02i00 at one point define 'lately' as 'a short time ag
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0 Good lord, "the times they are a-changing"... 0-
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0 Hello 02br
02br
00I don't think "I was busy lately" is good. Indeed most people don't use this phrase. If you google "was busy lately", you get only 441 pages whereas you do 37200 pages for "been busy lately". 02br
02br
00My E-J dictionary says, 02br
00"Lately" is most comfortable with present perfect. When "lately" is used in simple past,
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0 Have you tried "was ... lately"? Paco? 02br
00There's lots of them... 050010id6
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0 Hello Pieanne 02br
02br
00Google gives: "was/were lately"=48,100, whereas "has/have been"=66,200. So we can't say "was/were lately" itself is unidiomatic. 02br
02br
00But when you inspect the usage of "was/were lately", you will find they are used mostly in passive constructs. And in those passives, we can suppose the result of the told event is still n
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0 01blockquote
00My E-J dictionary...12blockquote
12br
00Where can I get a copy of this dictionary? 02br
01blockquote
00"Lately" is most comfortable with present perfect. When "lately" is used in simple past, it suggests the result of the past event is still effective: "He moved into a new apartment lately". 12blockquo
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0 I think there is no semantic difference. 02br
00"He moved into a new apartment recently and he lives there now." 02br
02br
00paco 0-
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0Thank you for your examples, Paco! 050010id1
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