Learn Spanish (Latin America): Conozco a la familia de mi esposa.

In Spanish, there are two verbs for 'to know'. We use conocer (which becomes conozco for the 'I' form) when talking about being familiar or acquainted with people, places, or things. We use saber for knowing facts, information, or how to do something. Since we are talking about knowing people, we use conozco.

What is the a doing in the middle of the sentence?

That is called the personal a. In Spanish, whenever the direct object of a verb is a specific person or a group of people, you must put the word a right before it. Since la familia is a group of people receiving the action, it needs this personal a.

Why does it say la familia de mi esposa instead of something like 'mi esposa's familia'?

Spanish does not use an apostrophe 's' to show possession. Instead, you have to use de (of) and swap the word order. So, 'my wife's family' is phrased as 'the family of my wife' (la familia de mi esposa).

Why does conozco end in '-zco'?