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