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