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