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