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