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