Complexity and Accuracy with Ser/Estar in Different Levels of Competence in Spanish as a Foreign Language

Abstract

This paper explores the use of structures with the verbs ser and estar to see if there are empirical data that allow associating their appearance in non-native production, with the levels of linguistic competence proposed by the European Reference Framework. In the study, 124 writing assignments of an academic certification made by university exchange students were considered. The results show that there are features that mark significant dif-ferences between levels, for which explanations are advanced based on concepts of difficulty and complexity of the context. The consideration of correct or incorrect use of the verbs serand estar in grammatical combinatorial is also associated. Candidates make more mistakes in the combinatorial of estar with respect to ser. The general results show that only some of the combinatorics could be used to distinguish levels of competence.