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