It is commonly admitted that speakers from different L1s are likely to have different ways of retelling events in a second language.  Furthermore, conceptualisation and linguistic encoding differences are partly imputable to the extent to which semantic properties are grammaticalized in L1s (eg. Papafragou et al., 2008; Thierry, 2016; von Stutterheim et al., 2017). However, research on event construal has mostly focused on motion events or temporo-aspectual expression in single events and less on the changing weight of the L1 in the developmental conceptualisation process. This study aims at investigating another core pattern of information selection and encoding in Syrian Arabic (SAL1), French L1 (FrL1) and French L2 (FrL2) narratives, namely in retelling scenes in which an agent causes an object to pass into the possession of an animate receiver like throwing trash on someone (1) : (1) ka:n fi: rajul `am yimši: bišša:ri' wu-s-sitt min al-na:fiza ramat al quma:ma There was a man walking on the street and the lady threw trash out of the window All languages have ditransitive verbs (throw) or 3-argument constructions to describe this type of scene. Furthermore, passive (2) or causative constructions are possible alternatives to report the same events.  (2) en premier y a Charlie qui s'est pris tous les gravats sur lui Narratives (in SAL1 and FrL2) were elicited with 29 Syrian learners (grouped according to C-Test scores in beginner and intermediate groups) and 15 FrL1 speakers (FrL1 narratives) using a silent movie extract showing a coherent story involving 5 visible protagonists. Focusing on the way entities are selected and involved in the reported events and comparing their semantic role in narratives' main structure, we aimed at investigating differences between FrL1 and SAL1, the extent to which construction preferences in FrL2 were driven by learners' L1, and whether those preferences were affected by learners' L2 proficiency.  Our results show different selection choices in FrL1 and SAL1 regarding entities and events involved in the storyline especially in ditransitive constructions. FrL1 speakers typically maintain reference to the main protagonist as agent or patient to retell what happens to him (2) while SAL1 speakers pay attention to several agentive entities – sometimes invisible in the stimulus - to build the main structure in FrL2 (3) and in SAL1 (1) making the protagonist as a recipient.  (3) première chose y a quelqu'un elle met la poubelle sur la tête de Chaplin In our poster we present the differences in the perspective taken on events (agentive and passive) in SAL1, FrL1 and FrL2 and discuss implications for research into event and narrative construal.