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