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