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