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