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Blood Relations

Reasoning · Verbal Reasoning

8 Part2 worked examples12 practice questions

Some family relations sound tangled: “my father’s brother’s wife’s son”, “the husband of my mother’s only daughter”. In the exam such a tangle is packed into one sentence and you are asked how two people are related to each other. That is the chapter on blood relations.

The good news is that there is no formula and no calculation. All you need is one habit: breaking every statement into small steps and drawing a small family tree as you go. We will make the names of relations — uncle, aunt, nephew, brother-in-law, sister-in-law — firm one by one, so you need to know nothing in advance.

Three kinds of questions appear in the exam, and the three main parts of this chapter follow them:

  • A tangled statement / photograph question — someone points to a photograph and describes the person through a long chain of relations.
  • A name puzzle — several names and their relations to each other are given; you are asked how two names are related.
  • Coded relations — such as “A + B means A is the mother of B”; then an expression like A × B ÷ C has to be read.

How to use this chapter

  1. Read — each part first explains the idea and then the method. Read the tables of relations carefully; they are the real tools.
  2. Study the solved example — in the boxes marked “Example” the full solution is open, step by step. At every step ask: why was this step taken?
  3. Try it yourself — in the “Try it yourself first” questions the solution is hidden. Draw a small tree on paper, solve, then choose an option. If stuck, take the hint, and open the solution only at the very end.
  4. Know the level — every question is marked Basic, Standard or Advanced. Make the basic ones solid first.
NoteIn this chapter a man is drawn as a square (□) and a woman as a circle (○). The questions you solve are remembered in this browser; see your progress on the right (the “Contents” button on a phone).
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Foundation — the language of relations

Words, tree symbols and the full table of relations

The difference between blood and marriage relations, generation, paternal and maternal, tree symbols and the name of every relation.

What blood relations are — the vocabulary

Birth relations, marriage relations, generation and side

First the words on which the whole chapter stands: blood relations, in-laws, generation, paternal-maternal and “only”.

Blood relations are relations formed by birth: parents, children, brothers and sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunts and their children (cousins). Marriage relations (in-laws) are formed by marriage: husband and wife, mother-in-law and father-in-law, son-in-law and daughter-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In the exam both kinds mix in one question, so you need the names of both.

WordMeaningExample
GenerationPeople on one level: parents are one generation above, children one below; brothers, sisters and spouses are on the same levelgrandfather → father → me → son
SiblingChildren of the same parentsbrother, sister
SpouseHusband or wifehusband ↔ wife
PaternalOn the father’s sidefather’s brother = paternal uncle
MaternalOn the mother’s sidemother’s brother = maternal uncle
Only (son / daughter)The one and only child of that sexthe only son = he has no other son

While identifying a relation always check four things. A slip in any one of them changes the answer:

  1. Sex — is the person male or female? (brother or sister, uncle or aunt)
  2. Generation — is he or she above me, level with me, or below me? (father, brother, son)
  3. Side — on the father’s side or the mother’s side? (paternal or maternal uncle)
  4. Link — joined by blood or by marriage? (brother or brother-in-law)
NoteSome words tell the sex: father, brother, son, husband, uncle, nephew (male) and mother, sister, daughter, wife, aunt, niece (female). Some words do not: parent, child, sibling, spouse, cousin. When such a word appears, do not guess the sex — unless the statement itself tells it.
Example 1 · Basic
Uma is the daughter of Lokesh. Uma is the mother of Mahesh. How is Lokesh related to Mahesh?
Solution, step by step
  1. 1Write down one relation from each statement and link them in a chain, starting from the person you are measuring from.
  2. 2Mahesh’s mother = Uma (that is, mother)
  3. 3Mahesh’s mother’s father = Lokesh (that is, grandfather)
  4. 4So Lokesh is Mahesh’s grandfather.
Answer grandfather
There were two statements, so two steps. Watch the sex at every step.
BasicTry it yourself first
Meena is the grandmother of Ekta. How is Ekta related to Meena?
BasicTry it yourself first
Kiran is the sister of Harsh. How is Harsh related to Kiran?
BasicTry it yourself first
Tarun is the husband of Priya. Bhavna is the mother of Priya. How is Bhavna related to Tarun?

The family tree — symbols and how to draw it

A small picture for every statement

Squares, circles, joining lines and generations from top to bottom; and four steps to turn a statement into a tree.

The safest way to untangle relations is to draw a picture. You need only four symbols:

SymbolMeaning
□ (square)a man
○ (circle)a woman
= (double line)husband and wife, that is, marriage
A line going downfrom the parents to their children; the children stand on one row, as brothers and sisters

A tree is read in rows. The top row is the oldest generation and every next row is one generation lower. People on one row are of the same generation. In the picture below the star (★) is the person from whom we count the relations; everybody else carries a letter, and the table says what that person is to ★.

★ABCDEFG
LetterWhat he or she is to ★
Afather
Bmother
Cbrother
Dsister
Ewife
Fson
Gdaughter

Four steps to turn a statement into a tree

The order of drawing
1. Start with the speaker (or the first name)2. Read the first relation; draw that person on the right row with the right symbol3. From that person add the next relation — each new person hangs on the previous one4. At the end look at the two persons asked about and read off the relation
TrickIn the tree every link starts from the speaker. If you start from somebody in the middle, “his” and “my” get mixed up.

Now a full example. Each step of the statement is named first, and then the tree is drawn.

★?
★ = the speaker (a man), ? = the person in the photograph
Example 2 · Standard
Pointing to a photograph, a man said, “He is my father’s sister’s husband’s only son.” How is the person in the photograph related to the speaker?
Solution, step by step
  1. 1Break the statement into small relations and walk one step at a time, starting from the speaker.
  2. 2“my father” = father
  3. 3“my father’s sister” = paternal aunt
  4. 4“my father’s sister’s husband” = uncle
  5. 5“my father’s sister’s husband’s only son” = cousin
  6. 6So the person in the photograph is the speaker’s cousin.
Answer cousin
While drawing, hang every new person below or beside the previous one.
BasicTry it yourself first
Pointing to a photograph, a woman said, “He is my mother’s only son.” How is the speaker related to the person in the photograph?
BasicTry it yourself first
Pointing to a photograph, a woman said, “She is the only daughter of my sister.” How is the person in the photograph related to the speaker?
BasicTry it yourself first
Pointing to a photograph, a man said, “He is the brother of my only daughter.” How is the speaker related to the person in the photograph?

The names of relations — the complete table

Upper generation, same generation, lower generation and in-laws

What every link (“my father’s brother”) is called: grandfathers, uncles, cousins, nephews, in-laws.

The tables below are the foundation of the whole chapter. Each row says what a link is called for the speaker. Under each table you are told what to watch for. (In the first three tables the speaker is a man.)

The upper generation — parents and above

My…is called
my fatherfather
my mothermother
my father’s fathergrandfather
my father’s mothergrandmother
my mother’s fathergrandfather
my mother’s mothergrandmother
my father’s brotherpaternal uncle
my father’s sisterpaternal aunt
my mother’s brothermaternal uncle
my mother’s sistermaternal aunt

Dada-dadi are on the father’s side, nana-nani on the mother’s side. A father’s brother is called chacha (younger) or tau (elder) in Hindi — in the exam both are the “paternal uncle”. The father’s sister is the bua (paternal aunt), the mother’s brother the mama (maternal uncle) and the mother’s sister the mausi (maternal aunt).

The wife of a chacha or mama and the husband of a bua or mausi belong to the same generation:

My…is called
my father’s brother’s wifeaunt
my mother’s brother’s wifeaunt
my father’s sister’s husbanduncle
my mother’s sister’s husbanduncle
NoteIn English these four are just uncle / aunt. When the options give “paternal uncle” and “maternal uncle” separately, the side (father’s or mother’s) alone decides the answer.

The same generation — siblings and cousins

My…is called
my brotherbrother
my sistersister
my father’s brother’s soncousin
my father’s brother’s daughtercousin
my father’s sister’s soncousin
my father’s sister’s daughtercousin
my mother’s brother’s soncousin
my mother’s brother’s daughtercousin
my mother’s sister’s soncousin
my mother’s sister’s daughtercousin

The child of a chacha, bua, mama or mausi is a cousin. Hindi has four names by side: the chacha’s children are chachere, the bua’s phuphere, the mama’s mamere and the mausi’s mausere brothers and sisters. English has just “cousin” for all four.

The lower generation — children, nephews, nieces and grandchildren

My…is called
my sonson
my daughterdaughter
my son’s songrandson
my son’s daughtergranddaughter
my daughter’s songrandson
my daughter’s daughtergranddaughter
my brother’s sonnephew
my brother’s daughterniece
my sister’s sonnephew
my sister’s daughterniece

A brother’s children are bhatija-bhatiji, a sister’s children bhanja-bhanji; English calls both “nephew / niece”. A son’s children are pota-poti, a daughter’s children nati-natin; English calls both “grandson / granddaughter”.

Marriage relations — the in-laws

My… (for a man)is called
my wifewife
my wife’s fatherfather-in-law
my wife’s mothermother-in-law
my wife’s brotherbrother-in-law
my wife’s sistersister-in-law
my sister’s husbandbrother-in-law
my brother’s wifesister-in-law
my son’s wifedaughter-in-law
my daughter’s husbandson-in-law
My… (for a woman)is called
my husbandhusband
my husband’s fatherfather-in-law
my husband’s mothermother-in-law
my husband’s brotherbrother-in-law
my husband’s sistersister-in-law
my sister’s husbandbrother-in-law
my brother’s wifesister-in-law

In English the wife’s brother, the husband’s brother and the sister’s husband are all brother-in-law; the wife’s sister, the husband’s sister and the brother’s wife are all sister-in-law. Hindi has a separate name for each, but the English word stays the same.

TrickRemember one line: “the elders on the father’s or mother’s side = grandparents; their children = chacha-bua, mama-mausi; their children = cousins.” It is a ladder of three generations and most relations climb up and down it.
BasicTry it yourself first
Lokesh is the son of Tarun. Tarun is the brother of Jaya. How is Jaya related to Lokesh?
BasicTry it yourself first
Dinesh is the brother of Ekta. Bhavna is the daughter of Dinesh. Varun is the husband of Ekta. How is Varun related to Bhavna?
StandardTry it yourself first
Dinesh is the brother of Tina. Mahesh is the son of Tina. Dinesh is the father of Seema. How is Seema related to Mahesh?
BasicTry it yourself first
Pointing to a photograph, a woman said, “He is the only son of my father.” How is the speaker related to the person in the photograph?
BasicTry it yourself first
Pointing to a photograph, a woman said, “He is my sister’s only son.” How is the person in the photograph related to the speaker?
StandardTry it yourself first
Pointing to a photograph, a woman said, “He is the only son of the mother of my mother.” How is the person in the photograph related to the speaker?
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The two sides, the in-laws and reversing a relation

The father’s side, the mother’s side, marriage relations, “what am I to him?”

The map of the paternal and maternal sides, the rules for in-law relations and the table for reversing a relation.

The father’s side and the mother’s side

Chacha or mama? Bua or mausi? — how the side is decided

A map of the grandparents, uncles, aunts and their children, and one simple rule to decide the side.

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In-law relations

Relations joined by marriage: parents-in-law, children-in-law, siblings-in-law

Three rules for in-law relations, the difference between “brother” and “brother-in-law” and the range of the English brother-in-law / sister-in-law.

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Reversing a relation

“He is my uncle”, so “what am I to him?”

Every relation has a reverse; it depends on the sex of the person — a table and practice.

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Tangled statements and photograph questions

Type 1 — opening a long chain of relations one step at a time

How to read a statement, traps such as “only”, and practice with direct and reversed statements.

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How to read a statement

Start at “my …”, one step at a time

The two ways of writing a statement, the order of reading, and what the direction “how is A related to B” means.

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Traps — “only” and links that come back

Who is “my father’s only son”?

When the chain comes back to the speaker or to his or her own family — sentences such as “only son” and “my brother’s father”.

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Practice — longer chains

Three or four steps, men and women as speakers

Mixed practice on direct statements: the chain gets longer but the method stays the same.

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Reversed statements — “her mother is my …”

When the relation given is that of the person’s parent

Statements such as “his father / her mother is …”: identify the parent first, then come down to the child.

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4

Name puzzles

Type 2 — many names, many statements, one question

Treating names as boxes and statements as arrows, a whole family told in statements, and counting the least number of people.

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How to join the statements

A name is a box, a statement is an arrow

A small picture from every statement, joining the links that share a name, and handling the unnamed person in the middle.

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A whole family told in statements — “who is …?”

One description, several questions

Put the whole family into one tree and then answer the questions that ask for a name.

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Longer puzzles — unnamed persons and spare statements

Four or five links and a few distracting statements

Hard puzzles in which the person in the middle is not named and some statements are unrelated to the question.

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The least number of people

When one person plays several roles

Questions that count grandfathers, fathers and sons: one man is a father and a son at the same time.

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Coded relations

Type 3 — +, −, × and ÷ standing for relations

Every sign stands for a relation; break the expression into pairs and draw the tree.

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How to read an expression

Pair by pair, from left to right

In which direction to read “A + B”, writing the pairs, building the tree from the back, and the check.

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Which expression means …? and longer expressions

The reverse question: the relation is given, find the expression

Choosing from four expressions the one that means the given relation, and long expressions of three or four pairs.

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6

Strategy guide

A firm order for every question and the slips to avoid

In any blood-relation question: recognising the type, the tree, a generation check and the common traps.

Spotting the type and the order of checks

Recognise → tree → generation check → options

A table that spots the three types at a glance and the generation count for checking the answer.

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Common traps

The mistakes that keep happening

The commonest reasons for losing marks in blood-relation questions and how to avoid them.

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7

Mixed practice

All types mixed — first spot the type, then solve

Questions of different types together, in three levels.

Basic practice

Two links, straight rules

Two-step statements, reversing relations, short puzzles and two-pair coded relations.

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Standard practice

Three links, “only”, name puzzles

Three-step statements, reversed statements, four-link puzzles and coded questions.

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Advanced practice

Four links, relations that loop back, unnamed persons

Long and reversed chains, long puzzles, three-pair coded relations and counting.

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Revision — cards

Flip each card and test yourself

Think of the answer yourself first, then flip.

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