Māori Grammar

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Mere is a girl, Mere is the girl

ko

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 Wid Vella tōku tipuna.
Wid Vella is my ancestor.

Ko koe taku toa!
You're my star player!

Ko taku hiahia he pukapuka.
A book is what I want.

Ko Koa tērā tangata.
That man is Koa.

Ko Kayte te pōtiki o Beverley.
Kayte is the youngest child of Beverley.

Ko Kauri rāua ko Pāora.
Kauri and Pāora.

Ko Raimona tōku tino hoa.
Raimona is my best friend.

Ko Pita tāku pōtiki.
Pita is my youngest child

Ko Pania tōku teina
Pania is my younger sister.

Ko Taupō te moana.
Taupō is the lake.

Ko John te tungāne o Fran.
John is the brother (of a girl) of Fran.

Ko Mia te tamāhine a Nikau.
Mia is the daughter of Nikau.

Ko ngā rorohiko hou ēnei.
These are the new computers.

Ko Brian tōku pāpā.
Brian is my father.

Ko Aidan te mātāmua o Kayte.
Aidan is the oldest child of Kayte.

Ko Ngāti Hāmua tōku hapū.
Ngāti Hāmua is my sub-tribe.

Ko Kuikui tōku whaea. Ko Tahu tōku matua.
Kuikui is my mother. Tahu is my father.

Ko Kahu te koroua o Terewai.
Kahu is the elder of Terewai.

Ko Hōhepa koe.
You are Hōhepa.

Ko tāku irāmutu ia.
She is my niece/He is my nephew.

Ko Amaru te tāne a Ataahua.
Amaru is the husband of Ataahua.

Ko Taranaki te maunga.
The moutain is Taranaki.

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 Tame mā.
Tame and the others.

Ko au te kaiako.
I am the teacher.

Ko te horopaki tērā ka tohu i te mahinga tika.
Context is what determines the correct usage.

Ko ōna tuāhine ngā kaiwhakahaere.
His sisters are the organisers.

Ko ia te kaiako o Rangi.
She is the teacher of Rangi.

Ko Riripeti rāua ko Tīwana aku mokopuna.
Riripeti and Tīwana are my grandchildren.

Ko te wā kaukau.
It is bath time.

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 Hera tōna ingoa.
Her name's Hera.

Ko Mere tōku māmā.
Mere is my mother.

Ko Rēwi au.
I am Rēwi.

Ko Hera tōku ingoa
Hera is my name.

Ko Hōhepa taku ingoa.
My name is Hōhepa.

Ko te Wenerei.
It's Wednesday.

Ko Āwhina te mataamua. Ko Aroha te pōtiki.
Āwhina is the oldest. Aroha the youngest.

Ko rātou ngā tāmgata.
They are the people.

Ko ngā pukapuka a Mia ēnā.
Those are Mia's books.

Ko Liam te mokopuna a Beverley rāua ko Denis.
Liam is the grandchild of Beverley and Denis.

Ko Niko te mokopuna tuatahi.
Niko is the first grandchild.

Ko Wiremu tāku tāne.
Wiremu is my husband.

Ko ngā tohunga nāna te waka i tārai.
The experts who carved the canoe.

Ko Ruahine te ingoa o tērā maunga.
Ruahine is the name of that mountain.

Ko te kūmara tāku tūmomo huawhenua pai rawa.
Kumara is my favourite type of vegetable.

Ko tēnei he tekau tana taraka.
This is a ten ton truck.

Ko ā matou kurī ngā toa ki te tiaki hipi.
Our dogs are the champion sheep-musterers.

Ko Rāhera rāua ko Tipene ōna hoa.
Her friends are Rāhera and Tīpene.

Ko Kauri te wahine a Tawa.
Kauri is the wife of Tawa.

Ko Rongomai tōku tuahine.
Rongomai is my sister.

Ko te kāinga tūturu o Ari kei Pōneke.
As for Ari's permanent home, it's in Wellington.

Ko tōku kuia tērā!
That's my nanna!

Ko Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku hungawai.
Hone and Rāhera are my parents-in-law.

Ko au te rōia mō tēnei take.
I am the Lawyer for this case.

Ko Pango te kurī.
Pango is the dog.

Ko Kāpuni te awa.
Kāpuni is the river.

Ko Eruera te tangata nā.
Eruera is that person (near you).

Ko ōku hoa kei waho!
It's my friends outside.

Ko Jim rāua ko Doug aku taokete.
Jim and Doug are my brother in laws.

Ko taku pene tēnā!
That is my pen!

Ko Rongomai taku tamāhine.
Rongomai is my daughter.

Ko ia te rangatira o tēnei tari.
She's the boss of this department.