BLOOD RELATIONS

In this section we will discuss about Blood Relations. We all have relatives, our blood relatives, so that, we can connect the question with ourselves and it makes us easy to understand and to find out what the question wants to say. The main problem of this section is the language of the question. They gave us too many relations and ask us to find out the final relation between them. we are now going to learn some general terms of blood relations/ blood relationship and chain of relationship.

PERSON’S RELATION WITH         YOU	GENERAL TERM
YOU	YOU
YOUR FATHER	FATHER
YOUR MOTHER	MOTHER
YOUR SISTER	SISTER
YOUR FATHER’S FATHER	PATERNAL GRANDFATHER
YOUR FATHER’S MOTHER	PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER
YOUR GRANDFATHER’S FATHER	GREAT GRANDFATHER
YOUR GRANDFATHER’S MOTHER	GREAT GRANDMOTHER
YOUR MOTHER’S FATHER	MATERNAL GRANDFATHER
YOUR MOTHER’S MOTHER	MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER
YOUR SISTER	SISTER
YOUR SISTER’S SISTER	SISTER*
YOUR BROTHER	BROTHER
YOUR BROTHER’S BROTHER	BROTHER*
YOUR FATHER’S BROTHER	UNCLE
YOUR FATHER’S SISTER	AUNT
YOUR UNCLE’S WIFE	AUNT
YOUR UNCLE’S CHILD	COUSIN
YOUR MOTHER’S BROTHER	UNCLE
YOUR MOTHER’S SISTER	AUNT
YOUR WIFE	WIFE
YOUR HUSBAND	HUSBAND
YOUR SON	SON
YOUR DAUGHTER	DAUGHTER
YOUR SON’S SISTER	DAUGHTER
YOUR SON’S BROTHER	SON
YOUR DAUGHTER’S SISTER	DAUGHTER
YOUR DAUGHTER’S BROTHER	SON
YOUR SISTER’S HUSBAND	BROTHER-IN-LAW
YOUR SISTER’S SON	NEPHEW
YOUR SISTER’S DAUGHTER	NIECE
YOUR BROTHER’S WIFE	SISTER-IN-LAW
YOUR BROTHER’S SON	NEPHEW
YOUR BROTHER’S DAUGHTER	NIECE
YOUR HUSBAND’S/WIFE’S BROTHER	BROTHER-IN-LAW
YOUR HUSBAND’S/WIFE’S SISTER	SISTER-IN-LAW
YOUR HUSBAND’S/WIFE’S FATHER	FATHER-IN-LAW
YOUR HUSBAND’S/WIFE’S MOTHER	MOTHER-IN-LAW
YOUR SON’S WIFE	DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
YOUR DAUGHTER’S HUSBAND	SON-IN-LAW
YOUR DAUGHTER’S/SON’S SON	GRANDSON
YOUR DAUGHTER’S/SON’S DAUGHTER	GRANDDAUGHTER

Let’s look at some examples and firstly try to make a protagonist, so that we can relate ourselves with him/her to understand blood relations/ blood relationship and chain of relationship.

e.g. 1. Rama tells Meera “Your mother’s father’s own son is the husband of my sister.” How is Rama related to Meera?

Ans- See, here two persons are talking and no third person is involved. So, we will first check that the required answer should be in terms of Meera’s relation with others or Rama’s relation with others.

Here we can clearly see that the question is how ‘Rama related to Meera’, which means the answer will be in Meera’s relation terms. And the first half of the question is also the strong point that Meera should be our protagonist.

Now, the question says that, her mother’s father’s (i.e. her grandfather’s) son (i.e. her uncle) is the husband of Rama’s sister (i.e. Rama’s brother-in-law).

It means, Meera’s uncle is Rama’s brother-in-law. So Rama is Meera’s Aunt.   [Note:- Any person, who is your mother’s or father’s brother/sister/brother-in-law/sister-in-law/cousin/cousin’s in-laws, will be your Uncle or Aunt (depends on their gender)]

e.g. 2. Pointing to the woman in the photograph, Himani said, “Her son’s father is the only son-in-law of my mother.” How is Shivani related to the woman?

Ans- Here also, only two persons are there and the question is how ‘Shivani related to the woman’, which means the answer should be in that women’s relation terms. So, our protagonist will be the woman.

Now, her son’s father (i.e. her husband) is the only son-in-law of Shivani’s mother. Which means Shivani’s mother has only one daughter, who is Shivani. Hence, the man is Shivani’s husband. So, the woman is Shivani herself.

Yeah, I know it’s crazy and funny at the same time but this is how these questions work.  

e.g. 3. D is A’s son. C is the mother of P and wife of D. How is A related to C?

Ans- Here, since there are too many characters, we will not choose protagonist now. We will further solve it and later choose our protagonist.

D is A’s son, C is P’s mother and wife of D. Which means, D and C are husband wife and P is their son/daughter (gender is not clear yet). And since D is A’s son, C will be Daughter-in-law of A.

But the question is about how ‘A is related to C’. So, our protagonist will be C. Since A’s gender isn’t clear yet, so A might be father-in-law of C or Mother-in-law of C. So the answer is- Data is not sufficient or Data inadequate. 

e.g. 4. R is the daughter of Q. M is the sister of B, who is the son of Q. How is M related to R?

Ans- Here, R is the daughter of Q. B is the son of Q. So B and R are brother-sister. M is also sister of B. So M is also daughter of Q. Hence, M and R are Sisters. So, our ans is Sister.

 e.g. 5. Shiva told Aayushi, “The girl I met yesterday at the beach, was youngest daughter of the brother-in-law of my friend’s mother.” How is the girl related to Shivani’s friend?

Ans- Here, if we read the question carefully, we will find that this question has nothing to do with Shivani or Aayushi. It is all about Shiva’s friend and the girl she saw at the beach. That girl was the daughter of the brother-in-law of Shiva’s friend’s mother. Means her friend’s mother is the aunt of the girl. So she is the cousin of Shiva’s friend.

e.g. 6. Amit introduce Bimal as the son of the only brother of his father’s wife. How is Kamal related to Amit?

Ans- Here the protagonist will be Amit because the question is asking how ‘Kamal related to Amit’.

Now, Amit’s father’s wife is Amit’s mother. And his mother’s brother is his uncle. And his uncle’s son is his cousin. So, Kamal is Amit’s cousin.  

e.g. 7. Pointing to man in a photograph, Minu said, “His mother’s only daughter is my mother.” How is Minu related to that man?

Ans- Here, the protagonist will be that man. So, his mother’s only daughter (i.e. his sister) is Minu’s mother. Which means, Minu is her niece. 

e.g. 8. A introduce B saying, “He is the husband of the granddaughter of the father of my father”. How is B related to A?

Ans- Here, the protagonist will be A. So, B is the husband of the granddaughter of the father of A’s father. Father of A’s father is his grandfather. So, B is the husband of granddaughter of A’s grandfather. So, B’s wife will be A’s sister or A’s cousin. In both the cases, B will be A’s brother-in-law. 

Here are few more questions of another type, which may come in exams.

e.g. 9. A+B means a is brother of B. A-B means A is sister of B. A*B means A is father of B. A/B means A is mother of B. A%B means A is wife of B.

If, P+Q/R-S, then how is P related to S?

Ans- Here, no BODMAS rule will be applied. We just have to do the calculation from the left most to the right most.

So, P+Q means P is brother of Q. Q/R means Q is mother of R. And R-S means R sister of S. So S is either nephew or niece of P. So P is Uncle of S.

e.g. 10. If X%Y*Z+M%N, then what is the relation between X and M?

Ans- X%Y means X is wife of Y, which means x is female. Y*Z means y is father of Z and so X is mother of Z. Z+M means Z is bother of M and M%N means M is wife of N, means M is also female.

So, M is daughter of X. And X is mother of M. So they have Mother-Daughter relationship.

Here is one more type of questions, from exam point of view.

e.g. 11. If A is the son of B. C, B’s sister, has a son D and a daughter E. F is the maternal uncle of D.

How is A related to D?

Ans- A is the son of B and D is the son of C. Also, C is B’s sister. So A is the cousin of D.

e.g. 12. How is E related to F?

Ans- E is the sister of D because C has son D and daughter E. Since F is maternal uncle of D, so F is maternal uncle of E also. So, E is niece of F.

Eamples:

1. Anil, introducing a girl in a party, said, she is the wife of the 12, grandson of my mother. How is Anil related to the girl?
   a) Father (b) Grandfather (c) Husband (d) Father-in-law
2. Introducing Rajesh, Neha said, “His brother‘s father is the only son of my grandfather”. How Neha is related to Rajesh?
   (a) Sister (b) Daughter (c) Mother (d) Niece
3. A man said to a woman, “Your brother‘s only sister is my mother”. What is the relation of the woman with the maternal grandmother of that man?
   (a) Mother (b) Sister (c) Niece (d) Daughter
4. Pointing to a photograph, a man said, “I have no brother or sister but that man‘s father is my father‘s son”. Whose photograph was it?
   (a) His own (b) His son‘s (c) His father’s (d) His nephew‘s
5. Pointing to a photograph, a lady tells Pramod, “I am the only daughter of this lady and her son is your maternal uncle”, How is the speaker related to Pramod‘s father?
   (a) Sister-in-law (b) Wife (c) Neither (a) nor (b) (d) Aunt
6. Introducing a man, a woman said, “His wife is the only daughter of my mother”. How is the woman related to that man?
   (a) Aunt (b) Wife (c) Mother-in-law (d) Maternal Aunt
7. Deepak said to Nitin, “That boy playing with the football is the younger of the two brothers of the daughter of my father‘s wife”. How is the boy playing football related to Deepak?
   (a) Son (b) Brother (c) Cousin (d) Nephew
8. A man pointing to a photograph says, “The lady in the photograph is my nephew‘s maternal grandmother”. How is the lady in the photograph related to the man‘s sister who has no other sister?
   (a) Cousin (b) Sister-in-law (c) Mother (d) Mother-in-law
9. A is the brother of B. A is the brother of C. To find what is the relation between B and C. What minimum information from the following is necessary?
   (i) Gender of C (ii) Gender of B
   a) Only (i) (b) Only(ii) (c) Either (i) or (ii) (d) both (i) and (ii)
10. In a family of 5, P is the father of R. S is Q‘s son. S has R as sister. Therefore, if U has P as brother, then the relationship between Q and U is as follows.
    (a) Q is U‘s daughter (b) U is Q‘s wife (c) Q is the sister-in-law of U (d) Q is U‘s brother-in-law

Solutions:

1. (d) Clearly, the grandson of Anil‘s mother is son of Anil and wife of Anil‘s son is daughter in-law of Anil. Thus, Anil is the father-in-law of the girl.
2. (a) Father of Rajesh‘s brother is the father of Rajesh. Rajesh‘s father is the only son of Neha‘s grandfather. Hence, Rajesh‘s father is Neha‘s father. So, Neha is the sister of Rajesh.
3. (d) The only sister of the brother of the woman will be the woman herself and she is the mother of that man. Thus, the woman is the daughter of the maternal grandmother of that man.
4. (b) Since the narrator has no brother, his father’s son is he himself. So, the man who was talking is the father of the man in the photograph, i.e. the man in the photograph is his son.
5. (b) Clearly, the speaker‘s brother Pramod‘s maternal uncle. So, the speaker is Pramod‘s mother or his father‘s wife.
6. (b) Clearly, only daughter of her mother is woman herself. So, that woman to the wife of man.
7. (b) Father‘s wife — Mother; Mother‘s daughter — Sister; Sister‘s younger brother — His brother. So, the boy is Deepak‘s brother.
8. (c) Clearly, the lady is the grandmother of man‘s sister‘s son i.e., the mother of the mother of man‘s sister‘s i.e., the mother of man‘s sister. So, the lady is man‘s mother.
9. (d) Without knowing the sex of C, we can‘t be determined whether B is sister of C or B is brother of C. Similalrly without knowing the sex of B we can‘t be determined whether C is sister of B or C is brother of B. Therefore, both (i) and (ii) are necessary.
10. (c) P and Q are husband and wife, with R and S as their children. P is U’s brother, therefore Q is U’s brother’s wife, that is, sister-in-law.

Topic of reasoning ‘blood relations/ blood relationship’ and sometimes we called it Coded Relationship. Both name are of the same meaning and indicating the same topic.

So, Coded Relationship (Blood Relationship) problems involve interpreting a given relationship string that is coded in a particular manner and then matching it with the relationship given in questions. The process of making relationship string by decoding each and every relation is time-consuming thus to use less time we should be clear of all the relationship patterns that can exist between any two individuals. Very well-known relations are:

Mother, father-son, daughter, brother, sister, niece, nephew, uncle, aunt, husband, wife, cousin, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law.

  The patterns of some relationships which help in solving questions in these topics are:

(The person’s relation with you)

Father’s Father –                              Grandfather (paternal grandfather)

Mother’s Father –                             Grandfather (maternal grandfather)

Father’s Mother –                             Grandmother (paternal grandmother)

Mother’s Mother –                             Grandmother (maternal grandmother)

Father’s or Mother’s Son –                Brother

Father’s or Mother’s Daughter –       Sister

Father’s Brother –                             Paternal Uncle

Father’s Sister –                                Paternal Aunt

Mother’s Sister –                                Maternal Aunt

Mother’s Brother –                             Maternal Uncle

Aunt’s or Uncle’s Son or Daughter –   Cousin

Son’s Wife –                                         Daughter-in-law 

Daughter’s Husband –                          Son-in-law

Husband’s or Wife’s Brother –             Brother-in-law

Husband’s or Wife’s Sister –                Sister-in-law

Brother’s Wife –                                     Sister-in-law

Sister’s Husband –                                 Brother-in-law

Brother’s Son –                                       Nephew

Brother’s Daughter –                             Niece     

(* It depends on the question, if it is given that your brother/sister has only one brother/sister then it will be you) 

KEEP REMEMBER:  If it is given in the question that your brother/sister has only one brother/sister then it will be you and if it is given that your parents have only one child then it will be you again.

Sometimes, the term paternal and maternal is not given in question with the father’s relatives and with the mother’s relatives respectively, still, it should be totally understood by you because it is not necessary to put these words every time. 

Now, with the help of some examples, we will see how to solve these questions. Firstly in order to solve relations, we make a protagonist (the leading character by which relationship string will be formed).

Generally, two types of questions will be found in exams

1. One person is telling another person
2. A third person’s relation is discussing by two or more persons or more than 3 characters are given with a relationship string 

Now keep it simple and understanding with the examples:

1. Introducing a boy, a girl said, “He is the son of the daughter of the father of my uncle”. How is the boy related to the girl?

1. Brother
2. Nephew
3. Uncle
4. Son-in-law
5. None of these

Ans. Option A

Here is only two-person and no third person involves so, first of all, we will look for the protagonist and start faming relations. We will take the girl as protagonist and go like this-

The father of the boy’s uncle – the grandfather of the boy and daughter of the grandfather- sister of the father. This relation will be established they will be cousins but as here is no option of a cousin but we have the option of a brother so we will go with it. 

2. Pointing to a photograph of a boy Sonu said, “He is the son of the only son of my mother”. How is Sonu related to that boy?  

1. Brother
2. Uncle
3. Cousin
4. Father
5. None of these

Ans. Option D

Here, Sonu is taking to someone about the third person so, we will start relationship string with Somu

As the boy who is in that photograph is the only son of the son of Somu’s mother it means he is the son of Sonu and Sonu’s mother is his grandmother. Hence Sonu is the father of boy. 

3. M is the father of N. L is the brother of M. P is the mother of L. How is N related to P?

1.  Grandson
2. Can’t be determined
3. Granddaughter
4. Nephew
5. None of these

Ans. Option B

Here more than many characters are given and everyone is in relationship string so we can start sequence wise by taking M as a protagonist.

As P is the mother of L and M. N is a child of M. So, N is grandson/granddaughter of P. That’s why option b is correct we can’t choose grandson or granddaughter.

Directions: Study the given question carefully and answer the given question

Que. C is the daughter of the one who is the son of B. There is only one married couple in the group. F is the brother of E, who is the daughter of D and granddaughter of B. A is the mother of C, who is a married couple in the group.

4. What is true with respect to F?

A. F is the son of B and A                                B. F is the daughter of C and E

C. F is the son of D and A                                D. F is the daughter of B

Ans. Option C

When we make relationship string, we get B is grandfather/grandmother, A and D are married couple and C, E, and F are siblings so option C is correct. 

5. How is B related to E?

A. B is the uncle of E   B. B is the grandmother of E    C. B is the grandfather of E

D. Can’t be determined           

Ans. Option D

As B can be a grandfather or grandmother so only option D is correct.

Ques. L is the mother of J. J is the only daughter of R. R is the son of D. D is the wife of K. K is the father of T. T is the wife of Y.  

6. How is L related to T?

A. Niece           B. Sister           C. Daughter     D. Daughter-in-law      E. Sister 

7. If J is the sister of X, then how is X related to Y?

A. Son B. Nephew       C. Daughter     D. Niece          E. Daughter-in-law  

8. How is J related to K?

A. Daughter     B. Granddaughter        C. Brother        D. Grandfather            E. Niece

Que. All the given members belong to the same family. A is the mother of B. B is the sister of C. D is the son of C. E is the brother of D. F is the mother of E. G is the granddaughter of A. H has only two children B and C.

9. How is F related to H?

A. Son-in-law               B. Daughter-in-law      C. Father         D. Neice          E. Brother 

10. Who is the mother of G?

A. C                 B.  B                C. F                 D. Either B or F                        E. Either C or F 

Ans. 6. Option D

Ans. 7. Option B

Ans. 8. Option B

Ans. 9. Option B

Ans. 10. Option C 

Note: Father’s or Mother’s brother/Sister/Sister-in-law/brother-in-law will be parental or maternal Uncle/Aunt. (According to gender)