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