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