comma with 'a little': I will be there, a little, late.

[Memar]

I will be there a little late or I will be there, a little, late.

Which one is correct?

Thanks for your time and willingness to help

 

[panjandrum]

I will be there a little late or I will be there, a little, late.

Which one is correct?

Thanks for your time and willingness to help

The second is definitely wrong.

I will be there a little late.
The message of the sentence is that you are going to be a little late getting there.

I will be there, a little late.
The message of the sentence is that you will be there, and by the way you expect to be a little late.
The comma makes "a little late" an aside, a supplement to the main message.

 

[Elwintee]

It's unlikely that this is what is meant, but there is a third option, using the original punctuation of I will be there, a little, late.
"I will be there [at the party tonight], a little [= but I will be there only for a short time], [and I shall arrive] late." This elliptical wording would be understood in the context of a conversation.

 

[morzh]

I think this was not meant as the sense was clearly understood from the sentence without the commas (despite it being incorrect). That is, to be a bit late. And so the question was about how to correctly position a comma (commas).