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4.7 le and lo

In the third person singular and plural (he, she, it = singular; they = plural) things can get a bit confusing at the start.

I give him the book. = Le regalo el libro.
I give her the book. = Le regalo el libro.
I give them the book. = Les regalo el libro.

The problem you will find is that sometimes le and les (the pronouns of the indirect object) are used instead of lo and los. There is again a rule to this exception: Only if the object is a male person the pronoun of the direct object can be le or les. This substitution is not made in all of the Spanish speaking countries but it is generally considered correct.

If the object is a female person, a thing or an animal this substitution is not permitted.

The following summary should give you a good overview:

le and lo, les and los

I see Pedro I see him	Le veo   correct	Lo veo correct	actually direct object (acusativo) rule of exception: Pedro = male
I see Maria I see her	Le veo   not correct	La veo correct	direct object pronoun (acusativo) no exception: Maria = female
I see the boys I see them	Les veo   correct	Los veo correct	direct object pronoun (acusativo) rule of exception: boys = male
I see the girls I see them	Les veo   not correct	Las veo correct	direct object (acusativo) no exception: girls = female
I give Pedro a book I give him a book	Le regalo un libro   correct	Lo regalo un libro not correct	indirect object (dativo) no substitution at all
I give Maria a book I give her a book	Le regalo un libro   correct	Lo regalo un libro not correct	indirect object (dativo) no substitution at all
I give the boys a book I give them a book	Les regalo un libro   correct	Los regalo un libro not correct	indirect object (dativo) no substitution at all
I give the girls a book I give them a book	Les regalo un libro    correct	Los regalo un libro not correct	indirect object (dativo) no substitution at all

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