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