Conocen al enemigo.

Conocen is the third-person plural present indicative form of conocer.

That means it can match:

• ellos = they
• ellas = they
• ustedes = you all (formal)

So grammatically, the sentence could mean either:

• They know the enemy
• You all know the enemy (formal)

Context tells you which one is meant.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb ending already gives you information.

Here, -en in conocen tells you the subject is third-person plural or ustedes.

So instead of saying:

• Ellos conocen al enemigo

Spanish can simply say:

• Conocen al enemigo

This is completely normal.

Yes.

Conocen can be:

• they know
• you all know (with ustedes)

In Spain, this matters because:

• informal plural you = vosotros conocéis
• formal plural you = ustedes conocen

So in Spain, if the speaker is talking casually to more than one person, they would usually say conocéis, not conocen.

Because Spanish uses the personal a before a direct object that refers to a person, people, or something treated as human.

Here, el enemigo refers to a human enemy or enemy group, so you use a:

• Conocen a el enemigo → this contracts to Conocen al enemigo

So al here is:

• a
  • el = al

This does not mean to the in this sentence. It is just the required personal a plus the article el.

The personal a is the a used before a direct object that is human or person-like.

Compare:

• Conocen al enemigo = the object is a person / people
• Conocen el problema = the object is a thing, so no a

English does not have this feature, so it often feels strange to learners at first.

A useful idea is:

• if the direct object is a person, Spanish often uses a

Because in Spanish, a + el always contracts to al.

So:

• a el enemigo → al enemigo

This is a fixed contraction, just like:

• de + el → del

But note:

• a la enemiga does not contract
• a los enemigos does not contract

Only a + el becomes al.

This is a very common question.

In general:

• conocer = to know, be familiar with, know personally
• saber = to know a fact, know information, know how

Examples:

• Conozco a María = I know María
• Sé su nombre = I know her name

With people, Spanish normally uses conocer, not saber.

So in Conocen al enemigo, the idea is that they know / are familiar with / understand the enemy, not that they merely know one fact about the enemy.

It is in the present indicative.

That can express different ideas in English, depending on context:

• a present situation: They know the enemy
• a general truth: They know the enemy
• a habitual situation: They know the enemy

Spanish present tense is often a bit broader than English learners first expect.

Enemigo is a masculine singular noun.

So:

• el enemigo = the enemy

If it were feminine, it would be:

• la enemiga = the female enemy

And then the sentence would be:

• Conocen a la enemiga

So the -o ending here matches the masculine form.

It can be either, depending on context.

El enemigo can refer to:

• one specific enemy
• the enemy as a group or opposing force

This happens in English too. For example, in military language, the enemy often means the opposing side in general, not just one person.

So Conocen al enemigo could mean they know:

• one particular enemy, or
• the opposing force

Yes, that is correct.

Adding the subject pronoun is possible, but it is often unnecessary.

Spanish usually includes the pronoun only when there is a reason, such as:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity

For example:

• Ellos conocen al enemigo, pero nosotros no.

Without special emphasis, Conocen al enemigo sounds more natural.

In this form, yes, it behaves regularly.

The infinitive is conocer. In the present tense:

• yo conozco
• tú conoces
• él/ella/usted conoce
• ellos/ellas/ustedes conocen

The unusual form is yo conozco, which has -zc-. But conocen itself is straightforward and regular-looking.

A simple guide is:

ko-NO-then al e-ne-MI-go

In much of Spain:

• c before e is pronounced like the th in thin
• so conocen sounds roughly like ko-NO-then

And:

• enemigo is stressed on mi: e-ne-MI-go

A more Spain-style pronunciation would be approximately: ko-NO-then al e-ne-MEE-go