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