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