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