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