Spanish language Q&A Forum

In the test the question is "Coloca las plantas _____ sol." I understand that "al" is the correct answer as far as a contraction, but why do you use "a" in this instance? Why is it not "en el sol"?

I'm almost 2 years into learning Spanish and I get lost after hearing a couple of words if I close my eyes.  I watch shows and listen to Spanish podcast, and my ear for Spanish has not developed at all.  What could I possible do to change this?

I would translate quería as I wanted or was wanting.  Thank you.

How would you write “My leg and knee hurt”? It seems like I could write it “Me duele la pierna y la rodilla”, but not “Me duelen la pierna y la rodilla." Are either of those correct?

Que tal,

How interchangeable are tras and detrás? Is one preferred over another, and if so, does it vary by country or age or context?

I'm think about basic use meaning 'behind,' such as "El niño se escondía tras (detrás) las cortinas."

Thanks!

Just a terminology question, but why is this called "El Pretérito Perfecto Subjuntivo" instead of "El Presente Perfecto Subjuntivo"? I thought pretérito meant past tense? (It seems to mean past tense in the context of Pretérito Indefinido and Pretérito Imperfecto.) 

Not a huge deal, but I learned monte = hill and montaña = mountain and not the other way around. Maybe I'm wrong.

[A comment, not a question]: "Guión" is interesting because the Academia in Madrid recently ruled that it had to be spelled "guion". They added that they were not prescribing how it was supposed to be pronounced. A lot of people (in Spain; I'm not sure about América?) still pronounce it with two syllables, as if the 'o' carried an accent: 'ó'. It does become a bit problematic when you expand it to "guionista" - where there is no obvious indicator telling you to make it four syllables (i.e., separating the 'ui' from the 'o') > gui_on'ista.

It appears to me that the better answer for "we have been" would be "hemos estado" rather than "hemos ido," which seems to me to say "we have gone."  In English, there is a difference between "been" and "gone."  Could you please advise.  Thank you.