This paper addresses itself to the way in which K'ekchi speakers identify the subject and the object in simple sentences. An attempt is made to determine: (1) whether K'ekchi has a basic word order, (2) the possible functions of any derived word order, and (3) whether there are any constraints on the logically possible word orders in K'ekchi. A native informant was given several sets of conditions, consisting of one verb and two noun phrases, and then presented with six logically possible word orders for each set. The informant was asked which of these could be interpreted as the particular set of conditions first presented, and what difference in meaning existed between different acceptable word orders. Later, the results of this analysis were contrasted to answers given by three other informants. For two of the informants, only VOS, SVO, and SOV were acceptable; for the other two, only VOS, SVO, and SOV were acceptable except in cases where the subject was animate and the object inanimate. In those cases, any order was acceptable. In general, results indicated that: (1) VOS is the basic word order, with SVO and SOV being derived orders; (2) SVO and SOV have particular functions which differentiate them from VOS; and (3) there are constraints on word order in K'ekchi. (AM)