In this study, we examine how word order (subject-verb-object vs.
object-verb-subject) and verb type (psychological verb vs. action verb)
affect second language Spanish learners’ and native Spanish speakers’
ability to determine *who did what to whom* in sentences. Participants’
accuracy in this argument interpretation task was compared to their
sentence processing results from a self-paced reading task. In the native
Spanish speaker group and two of three second language learner groups,
there was a direct link between the processing difficulty that participants
experienced while reading and their ability to subsequently determine *who
did what to whom* in the sentences.