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