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