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