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) sentences and selected from two English translations. Paired-samples t-tests indicated all levels scored significantly higher (p less than 0.01) for SV than VS sentences. A one-way ANOVA also showed significant differences (p less than 0.01) across levels for VS sentences, with fifth-semester learners significantly outperforming first- (p equal to 0.02) and third-semester (p less than 0.01) learners. Findings reveal a tendency to interpret the first noun as an object in the VS sentences, contrary to the First Noun Principle. (Contains 3 tables and 3 notes.)