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