Do you always follow the rules of "proper" English in your speaking and writing? Probably not. So it probably would be too much to ask native Spanish speakers to do the same.
When it comes to breaking the rules of Spanish — or at least of varying from standard Spanish — there are probably no rules that are broken more often than those involving third-person object pronouns. The rules are broken so often that there are three common names for variations from what's considered normal, and the Spanish Royal Academy (the official arbiter of what is proper Spanish) accepts the most common variation from the norm but not others. As a Spanish student, you're normally best off learning, knowing and using standard Spanish; but you should be aware of variations so they don't confuse you and, ultimately, so you know when it's OK to deviate from what you learn in class.
The chart below shows the third-person objective pronouns that are recommended by the Academy and are understood by Spanish speakers everywhere. Discussion on these pronoun continues on the following page:
| Number and gender | Direct object | Indirect oject |
| singular masculine ("him" or "it") | lo (Lo veo. I see him or I see it.) | le (Le escribo la carta. I am writing him the letter.) |
| singular feminine ("her" or "it") | la (La veo. I see her or I see it.) | le (Le escribo la carta. I am writing her the letter.) |
| plural masculine ("them") | los (Los veo. I see them.) | les (Les escribo la carta. I am writing them the letter.) |
| plural feminine ("them") | las (Las veo. I see them.) | les (Les escribo la carta. I am writing them the letter.) |
