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