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