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