Māori Grammar
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Sentences that begin with ko are known as "identity sentences" and answers the question "who is?" or "who are?"
There are four possible kinds of words that follow ko.
(1) The subject can be a personal name or place:
Ko Joan tōku māmā.
Joan is my mother.
Ko Rangi tōku ingoa.
My name is Rangi.
Ko Tararua te maunga.
Tararua is the mountain.
(2) The subject can be a pronoun ("he", "she", "them", etc):
Ko ia te tama a Debbie.
He is Debbie's son.
Ko koe te manuhiri.
You are the visitor.
Ko au tā rāua tamāhine.
I am their daughter.
(3) The subject can be a noun ("the time", "the language"):
Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori.
The Māori language is the life force of Māori mana.
Ko te Rātū tēnei rā.
It is Tuesday today.
Ko ngā manuhiri ērā tāngata.
Those people are the guests.
(4) The subject can also be a word like "this" and "those":
Ko tēnei te whānau.
This is the family.
Ko tērā taku tūrangawaewae.
That's my place to stand.
Ko ēnei ngā rorohiko hou.
These are the new computers.
Ko te Rātū tēnei rā.
It is Tuesday today.Ko ngā rorohiko hou ēnei.
These are the new computers.Ko ia te kaiako o Aroha.
She is the teacher of Aroha.Ko Rangi tāku pōtiki.
Rangi is my youngest childKo tēnā te whare nui.
That (near you) is the big house.Ko Tame mā.
Tame and the others.Ko tēnei he tekau tana taraka.
This is a ten ton truck.Ko Moana te wahine a Amaru.
Moana is the wife of Amaru.Ko Ari tērā tangata.
That man is Ari.Ko Kuikui tōku whaea. Ko Tahu tōku matua.
Kuikui is my mother. Tahu is my father.Ko te horopaki tērā ka tohu i te mahinga tika.
Context is what determines the correct usage.Ko Amaru rāua ko Manu.
Amaru and Manu.Ko Taupō te moana.
Taupō is the lake.Ko Ruahine te ingoa o tērā maunga.
Ruahine is the name of that mountain.Ko Wiremu tāku tāne.
Wiremu is my husband.Ko Hera tōna ingoa.
Her name's Hera.Ko tēnei whare te whare o Hone.
This is Hone's house.Ko Wid Vella tōku tipuna.
Wid Vella is my ancestor.Ko Raimona tōku tino hoa.
Raimona is my best friend.Ko te tino tangata o taua marae, ko Hapi.
The leading person of that marae is Hapi.Ko Brian tōku pāpā.
Brian is my father.Ko te whare tēnei.
This is the house.Ko Riripeti rāua ko Tīwana aku mokopuna.
Riripeti and Tīwana are my grandchildren.Ko ahau te kōtiro tuarua.
I am the second girl.Ko Pango te kurī.
Pango is the dog.Ko Eruera te tangata nā.
Eruera is that person (near you).Ko ā matou kurī ngā toa ki te tiaki hipi.
Our dogs are the champion sheep-musterers.Ko te kurī te hoa o te tangata.
The dog is the friend of the man.Ko tēnei te whare.
This is the house.Ko Āwhina te mataamua. Ko Aroha te pōtiki.
Āwhina is the oldest. Aroha the youngest.Ko Kāpuni te awa.
Kāpuni is the river.Ko Taranaki te maunga.
The moutain is Taranaki.Ko Liam te mokopuna a Beverley rāua ko Denis.
Liam is the grandchild of Beverley and Denis.Ko Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku hungawai.
Hone and Rāhera are my parents-in-law.Ko Kayte te pōtiki o Beverley.
Kayte is the youngest child of Beverley.Ko Hōhepa taku ingoa.
My name is Hōhepa.Ko te pahi o te kura tēnei.
This is the school bus.Ko Taika te mokopuna tuatahi.
Taika is the first grandchild.Ko Ōamaru te tāone.
Ōamaru is the town.Ko Kauri te tamāhine a Taika.
Kauri is the daughter of Taika.Ko te raumati te wā kauhoe.
Summer is the time for swimming.Ko Rewi te rangatira.
Rewi is the chief.Ko Rewi te hoa o Mere.
Rewi is Mary's friend.Ko Tawa tōku ingoa
Tawa is my name.Ko te wā kaukau.
It is bath time.Ko John te tungāne o Fran.
John is the brother (of a girl) of Fran.Ko Rāhera rāua ko Tipene ōna hoa.
Her friends are Rāhera and Tīpene.Ko tāku irāmutu ia.
She is my niece/He is my nephew.Ko Kahu te koroua o Terewai.
Kahu is the elder of Terewai.Ko au te rōia mō tēnei take.
I am the Lawyer for this case.Ko te kūmara tāku tūmomo huawhenua pai rawa.
Kumara is my favourite type of vegetable.Ko ōna tuāhine ngā kaiwhakahaere.
His sisters are the organisers.Ko au te kaiako.
I am the teacher.Ko Pāora te tāne a Aria.
Pāora is the husband of Aria.Ko taku pene tēnā!
That is my pen!Ko te kāinga tūturu o Nikau kei Pōneke.
As for Nikau's permanent home, it's in Wellington.Ko rātou ngā tāmgata.
They are the people.Ko Jim rāua ko Doug aku taokete.
Jim and Doug are my brother in laws.Ko te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa te moana.
The Pacific Ocean is the ocean.Ko taku hiahia he pukapuka.
A book is what I want.Ko ngā tohunga nāna te waka i tārai.
The experts who carved the canoe.Ko Tōrere te marae e tū ai te hui.
Tōrere is the marae where the meeting will take place.Ko koe taku toa!
You're my star player!Ko ia te rangatira o tēnei tari.
She's the boss of this department.Ko Aidan te mātāmua o Kayte.
Aidan is the oldest child of Kayte.Ko tōku kuia tērā!
That's my nanna!Ko Taranaki te maunga e tū mai rā.
That mountain standing over there is Mount Taranaki.Ko Pania tōku teina
Pania is my younger sister.Ko Mere tōku māmā.
Mere is my mother.Ko Ngāti Hāmua tōku hapū.
Ngāti Hāmua is my sub-tribe.Ko Rongomai taku tamāhine.
Rongomai is my daughter.Ko ngā pukapuka a Pāora ēnā.
Those are Pāora's books.