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