Māori Grammar
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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 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 tēnei he tekau tana taraka.
This is a ten ton truck.Ko tōku kuia tērā!
That's my nanna!Ko Amaru tāku pōtiki.
Amaru is my youngest childKo taku pene tēnā!
That is my pen!Ko Hēmi mā.
Hēmi and the others.Ko Kāpuni te awa.
Kāpuni is the river.Ko ā matou kurī ngā toa ki te tiaki hipi.
Our dogs are the champion sheep-musterers.Ko ngā rorohiko hou ēnei.
These are the new computers.Ko Rangi tērā tangata.
That man is Rangi.Ko Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku hungawai.
Hone and Rāhera are my parents-in-law.Ko rātou ngā tāmgata.
They are the people.Ko te wā kaukau.
It is bath time.Ko Niko rāua ko Kauri.
Niko and Kauri.Ko te pahi o te kura tēnei.
This is the school bus.Ko Rongomai tōku tuahine.
Rongomai is my sister.Ko Ruahine te ingoa o tērā maunga.
Ruahine is the name of that mountain.Ko Hera tōna ingoa.
Her name's Hera.Ko Brian tōku pāpā.
Brian is my father.Ko ōku hoa kei waho!
It's my friends outside.Ko Jim rāua ko Doug aku taokete.
Jim and Doug are my brother in laws.Ko ia te kaiako o Nikau.
She is the teacher of Nikau.Ko Hōhepa taku ingoa.
My name is Hōhepa.Ko Riripeti rāua ko Tīwana aku mokopuna.
Riripeti and Tīwana are my grandchildren.Ko te horopaki tērā ka tohu i te mahinga tika.
Context is what determines the correct usage.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 Taranaki te maunga.
The moutain is Taranaki.Ko taku hiahia he pukapuka.
A book is what I want.Ko au te kaiako.
I am the teacher.Ko Taupō te moana.
Taupō is the lake.Ko ōna tuāhine ngā kaiwhakahaere.
His sisters are the organisers.Ko Aidan te mātāmua o Kayte.
Aidan is the oldest child of Kayte.Ko ngā tohunga nāna te waka i tārai.
The experts who carved the canoe.Ko ia te rangatira o tēnei tari.
She's the boss of this department.Ko Koa te tāne a Mia.
Koa is the husband of Mia.Ko Pango te kurī.
Pango is the dog.Ko Rongomai taku tamāhine.
Rongomai is my daughter.Ko koe taku toa!
You're my star player!Ko tāku irāmutu ia.
She is my niece/He is my nephew.Ko Moana te tamāhine a Nikau.
Moana is the daughter of Nikau.Ko Liam te mokopuna a Beverley rāua ko Denis.
Liam is the grandchild of Beverley and Denis.Ko Pania tōku teina
Pania is my younger sister.Ko Mere tōku māmā.
Mere is my mother.Ko ngā pukapuka a Hēmi ēnā.
Those are Hēmi's books.Ko Mia te mokopuna tuatahi.
Mia is the first grandchild.Ko Kauri te wahine a Tame.
Kauri is the wife of Tame.Ko John te tungāne o Fran.
John is the brother (of a girl) of Fran.Ko Kahu te koroua o Terewai.
Kahu is the elder of Terewai.Ko au te rōia mō tēnei take.
I am the Lawyer for this case.Ko tēnei whare te whare o Hone.
This is Hone's house.Ko te kāinga tūturu o Rangi kei Pōneke.
As for Rangi's permanent home, it's in Wellington.Ko Wiremu tāku tāne.
Wiremu is my husband.Ko Wid Vella tōku tipuna.
Wid Vella is my ancestor.Ko tēnā te whare nui.
That (near you) is the big house.Ko Rāhera rāua ko Tipene ōna hoa.
Her friends are Rāhera and Tīpene.Ko Aroha tōku ingoa
Aroha is my name.Ko Ngāti Hāmua tōku hapū.
Ngāti Hāmua is my sub-tribe.Ko Kayte te pōtiki o Beverley.
Kayte is the youngest child of Beverley.