In Brazil, the weak clitic pronouns "-o(s)" and "-a(s)" are used "almost exclusively" in writing or in formal speech (e.g. TV newscasts). In colloquial speech, "ele(s)" and "ela(s)" replace the clitics as direct objects (e.g. "Vi eles na praia ontem" versus "Vi-os na praia ontem"; in English, "I saw them on the beach yesterday"). The standard written variants "-lo(s)" and "-la(s)" (used after an infinitive ending in "r") are more frequent though in the speech of polite speakers, but seem to be losing ground as well. Note, however, that "ele(s)" or "ela(s)" are never used as direct objects in formal writing, such as newspaper articles, academic papers, or legal documents. The use of "-lo", "-la", etc. replacing "você" as direct object is restricted mostly to the written language (in particular, movie subtitles) although it occurs frequently in a few fixed expressions like "Prazer em conhecê-lo" ("Pleased to meet you") or "Posso ajudá-lo?" ("May I help you?").