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