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I want to say that I'm working on a project lately, maybe this month or this week, but I don't specify the time in the sentence. I'm still working on a project and I will be working for some time. It doesn't mean that I'm writing a code for the project now, at the moment, when I write the text or something. "I'm working on a project". Is the sentence built correctly if I want to convey that meaning?

As far as I know, Present Continous use when action doing at the moment, right? But that sentence not about the current moment, but about the current time interval. Why there is doesn't use the Present perfect continuous tense? A lot of examples on the internet uses the Present Continous tense.

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  • “I'm working on a project” and “I've been working on a project” are both fine standalone, but “I'm working on a project lately” and “I've been working on a project at the moment” are both incorrect.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Nov 21, 2020 at 14:46
  • The present continuous is used to indicate that the action is current but it doesn't necessarily mean that the action is continuing at the very moment that you are speaking or writing. For instance two men might be talking after work is over for the day (when there's no Covid 19 lockdown) and one might say "What are you working on at the moment" to which the other might say "I'm working on the Cross Rail Project". The second man isn't actually working on Cross Rail at that moment becasue he's in the pub but he is still in the middle of the project and will be for months.
    – BoldBen
    Commented Nov 21, 2020 at 17:45

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'Lately' is used to emphasize the closeness of the action to the present time. So, it used for things that happened recently or started not long ago. So...

'I'm working on a project lately.' --> Incorrect

"I've been working on a project lately.' --> Correct

"I'll be working on a project soon.' --> Correct (Similar to lately but leans toward future)

"I'm working on a project." --> Correct

"I'm working on a project right now." --> Correct, but 'right now' is unnecessary.

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  • The present progressive construction is often used generically, with a temporal representing recency -- I find that I'm working on projects lately that don't take much time.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Nov 21, 2020 at 16:08

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