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