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