This study explored native English speakers' interpretations of second-language Spanish sentences featuring an animate subject and an ambitransitive verb (e.g., "Escuchan bien los ninos" "The children listen well"). First- (N=37), third- (N=39), and fifth-semester (N=23) participants heard eight subject-verb (SV) and eight verb-subject (VS)…

In the present study, we examine the roles of 1) explicit information about language provided to learners prior to treatment and 2) aptitude (specifically grammatical sensitivity) within Processing Instruction. Forty-two learners of Spanish in their third-semester of study were divided into two groups: those who received explicit information (EI)…

Examines a family of Spanish compounds formed by the combination of a third-person singular verb form with a following noun, and attempts to show the semantic categories of such compounds. It is argued that speakers of Spanish intuitively categorize unfamiliar "guarda" compounds according to their existing repertoires. (EJS)

Examines the structure of titles in Spanish. These structures have a sealed character with respect to the extraction of their constituent parts. Certain instances in which this generalization appears not to be followed are analyzed, and it is shown that the extraction is a verb rather than a noun form. (15 references) (Author/CK)