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