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 Mia te wahine a Amaru.
Mia is the wife of Amaru.Ko ōku hoa kei waho!
It's my friends outside.Ko rātou ngā tāmgata.
They are the people.Ko Āwhina te mataamua. Ko Aroha te pōtiki.
Āwhina is the oldest. Aroha the youngest.Ko Pania tōku teina
Pania is my younger sister.Ko Kauri te mokopuna tuatahi.
Kauri is the first grandchild.Ko Pango te kurī.
Pango is the dog.Ko tēnei he tekau tana taraka.
This is a ten ton truck.Ko Rongomai taku tamāhine.
Rongomai is my daughter.Ko tēnā te whare nui.
That (near you) is the big house.Ko Pāora mā.
Pāora and the others.Ko Brian tōku pāpā.
Brian is my father.Ko Hōhepa taku ingoa.
My name is Hōhepa.Ko tāku irāmutu ia.
She is my niece/He is my nephew.Ko ngā pukapuka a Amaru ēnā.
Those are Amaru's books.Ko Ani te tamāhine a Koa.
Ani is the daughter of Koa.Ko taku pene tēnā!
That is my pen!Ko Hēmi tērā tangata.
That man is Hēmi.Ko Hera tōna ingoa.
Her name's Hera.Ko ngā tohunga nāna te waka i tārai.
The experts who carved the canoe.Ko Rāhera rāua ko Tipene ōna hoa.
Her friends are Rāhera and Tīpene.Ko ā matou kurī ngā toa ki te tiaki hipi.
Our dogs are the champion sheep-musterers.Ko Taranaki te maunga.
The moutain is Taranaki.Ko au te rōia mō tēnei take.
I am the Lawyer for this case.Ko Jim rāua ko Doug aku taokete.
Jim and Doug are my brother in laws.Ko Kahu te koroua o Terewai.
Kahu is the elder of Terewai.Ko te wā kaukau.
It is bath time.Ko te horopaki tērā ka tohu i te mahinga tika.
Context is what determines the correct usage.Ko Nikau tāku pōtiki.
Nikau is my youngest childKo Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku hungawai.
Hone and Rāhera are my parents-in-law.Ko Honi rāua ko Aroha.
Honi and Aroha.Ko Eruera te tangata nā.
Eruera is that person (near you).Ko ōna tuāhine ngā kaiwhakahaere.
His sisters are the organisers.Ko te kūmara tāku tūmomo huawhenua pai rawa.
Kumara is my favourite type of vegetable.Ko taku hiahia he pukapuka.
A book is what I want.Ko te raumati te wā kauhoe.
Summer is the time for swimming.Ko te pahi o te kura tēnei.
This is the school bus.Ko Riripeti rāua ko Tīwana aku mokopuna.
Riripeti and Tīwana are my grandchildren.Ko tēnei whare te whare o Hone.
This is Hone's house.Ko te kāinga tūturu o Niko kei Pōneke.
As for Niko's permanent home, it's in Wellington.Ko Wid Vella tōku tipuna.
Wid Vella is my ancestor.Ko Kuikui tōku whaea. Ko Tahu tōku matua.
Kuikui is my mother. Tahu is my father.Ko au te kaiako.
I am the teacher.Ko tōku kuia tērā!
That's my nanna!Ko Mere tōku māmā.
Mere is my mother.Ko Wiremu tāku tāne.
Wiremu is my husband.Ko ngā rorohiko hou ēnei.
These are the new computers.Ko koe taku toa!
You're my star player!Ko ia te rangatira o tēnei tari.
She's the boss of this department.Ko Ngāti Hāmua tōku hapū.
Ngāti Hāmua is my sub-tribe.Ko Rongomai tōku tuahine.
Rongomai is my sister.Ko Taupō te moana.
Taupō is the lake.Ko John te tungāne o Fran.
John is the brother (of a girl) of Fran.Ko Raimona tōku tino hoa.
Raimona is my best friend.Ko Liam te mokopuna a Beverley rāua ko Denis.
Liam is the grandchild of Beverley and Denis.Ko ia te kaiako o Taika.
She is the teacher of Taika.Ko Kayte te pōtiki o Beverley.
Kayte is the youngest child of Beverley.Ko Aidan te mātāmua o Kayte.
Aidan is the oldest child of Kayte.Ko Ruahine te ingoa o tērā maunga.
Ruahine is the name of that mountain.Ko Kāpuni te awa.
Kāpuni is the river.