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