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