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