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