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