The reading process involves cognitive operations still little researched. In the case of reading in a foreign language, learners tend to apply L1 principles. This transfer may cause problems in the comprehension of an FL. In this study, we have checked the occurrence of reading problems related to nominal groups that, in English, present a principle different from the L1 Portuguese, with a nuclear element in the last position. Readers of English as an FL have applied the parameter of their L1 Portuguese, which presents a nuclear element as the first element in the group, in greater levels in beginners, reaching lower levels in readers in advanced levels of proficiency.