Mini‑quiz: ¿le o lo? Uso madrileño del pronombre de objeto

In Madrid, leísmo is very common: for a masculine, animate direct object in the singular, speakers often use "le" as the direct object pronoun: "Le vi". Standard Spanish also allows "Lo vi", but in Madrid speech "le" is preferred. The plural form "les" is incorrect here.

Leísmo is not used with feminine nouns: you need "la" ("La vi").

Leísmo is not used in the plural. The correct form is "los vi" (masculine plural).

Leísmo usually applies to people (masculine singular), not to animals or things. Here you say: "lo vimos".

In Madrid, "¿Le conoces?" is perfectly normal (this is "leísmo de persona"). In standard Spanish across Spain, "Lo conoces" is also possible, but in Madrid you’re more likely to hear "Le".

This is "leísmo de cortesía": when addressing someone formally with "usted", speakers often use "le" as the direct object pronoun: "¿Le puedo ayudar?"

In Madrid, people often say "Le llamé" (instead of the standard "Lo llamé") when talking about a man. The option "Le llamó" is wrong because the person of the verb does not match "llamé" (first person singular).

Feminine plural → "las". Leísmo is not used in the plural.

Mixed case: for Juan (masc., sg., in Madrid speech) → "le"; for Ana → "la". So the answer is: "le / la".

With "usted", "le" is used as the polite form: "¿Le traigo la carta?"