hence some speakers say "le vi" ("i saw him") for any masculine person, "la vi" ("i saw her/it") for any feminine noun, and "lo vi" ("i saw it") to refer to an inanimate masculine noun (e.g. vi al piso → "lo vi)", or a clause (viste lo que pasó anoche → "lo viste)". this gives us a set like the above: "le, la, lo".