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