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