Which is the correct way?

Question

I have always thought that if I wanted to say something like, "I saw him," then I would say:

Le vi.

Or, if I wanted to say, "I saw them," then it would be:

Les vi.

However, I see natives saying, "Lo vi," to say, "I saw him," or, "Los vi," for, "I saw them."

Now I am worried that something I thought I was sure about, I really know nothing about at all! I would really appreciate if someone could clear this whole lo, le, and la stuff up for me!

Answer 1

The correct form is: "Lo vi" - I saw him (him is Direct Object) "Los vi" - I saw them (them is Direct Object)

But for example in: "Le vi la cabeza a Juan" - I saw his head ("Le" because Juan is Indirect Object, his head is Direct Object)

Anyway, native speakers often (it depends on the region, for example in my city) change this pronouns and say "le vi", "les vi". So finally RAE (Real Academia de la Lengua) actepted that.

¿En que ciudad vives? - Noetol, Jan 26, 2014

This all makes my brain hurt! However, I am glad to have it clarified. - modrak, Jan 26, 2014

Yo es que digo "le vi" o "lo vi" dependendiendo de como me levante ese día jaja según me salga :P - Neox, Jan 26, 2014

Soy de Segovia, muy cerca de Madrid. Yo digo "le vi", soy consciente de que lo digo mal, pero está grabado a fuego en mi cerebro. No puedo evitarlo. - Keirlen, Jan 26, 2014

Yo también digo mas "Le vi" xdd - Neox, Jan 26, 2014

Answer 2

The direct object pronoun is "lo", so in "standard" Spanish, it woul be "lo vi". However, in some part of Spain the pronoun "lo" is replaced by "le". This is called "leísmo" and produces the phrase "le vi".

So the answer is...it depends on your location. Most areas use "lo" in this case.