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