Who is related to whom: pointing and introducing
Many questions are a sentence someone says while pointing at a photo or introducing a person. In this lesson you sort out who "I", "he" and "she" are, rewrite the quote as a plain chain, solve it, and answer in the direction the question asks.
Guess first
Pointing to a man in a photograph, Neha, a woman, said: "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is the man related to Neha?
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Correct answer: A
"My mother" is Neha's mother. Neha is a woman, so she is a daughter of her mother, and the only one. "The only daughter of my mother" is Neha herself. So the man's mother is Neha: he is her son.
Option B: A sister's son needs a second daughter. "Only" rules that out: the only daughter is Neha.
Option C: The man is the grandson of Neha's mother, not of Neha. This answers for the wrong person.
Option D: Neha's gender is given ("a woman"), so "the only daughter" points at one person: Neha.
Hint: Who is the only daughter of Neha's mother?
The sentence looked like a riddle, but it was a short chain spoken by Neha. This lesson gives you a routine for any such sentence.
A quote has three roles
A pointing sentence is like a phone call about a photo: someone talks, someone is in the photo, and someone may be listening.
The caller I, me, my
the speaker
The person in the photo he, his, she, her
the person pointed at or introduced
The listener you, your
the person spoken to
The message the quote itself
a chain that starts at one of these people
Before anything else, mark the roles:
| Word in the quote | Means |
|---|---|
| I, me, my | the speaker |
| he, his, him / she, her | the person pointed at or introduced |
| you, your | the person spoken to |
"Pointing to a man" or "introducing a girl" gives the gender of the person pointed at. The speaker's gender comes only from words like "a woman said" or "Ravi, a man": a name is not evidence.
See it: from quote to chain
Pointing to a girl, Ravi, a man, said: "She is the daughter of my paternal grandfather's only son."
Four moves for any pointing sentence:
- Mark the roles. "My" is Ravi; "she" is the girl in the photo.
- Rewrite the quote with names. The girl is the daughter of (the only son of Ravi's father's father).
- Solve the inner part first. Ravi's father is a son of that grandfather, and the grandfather has only one son, so that son is Ravi's father.
- Answer the asked direction. The girl is the daughter of Ravi's father: Ravi's sister.
flowchart TD G["Ravi's paternal grandfather"] --> F["his only son = Ravi's father"] F --> R["Ravi (male)"] F --> S["the girl: Ravi's sister"]
In words: the grandfather's only son is Ravi's father. Ravi and the girl are both children of that one man, so the girl is Ravi's sister.
Hindi says the side in one word: दादा is the father's father, नाना the mother's father. English "grandfather" alone does not, so read it carefully: "my grandfather's only son" could be the father (दादा's son) or a maternal uncle (नाना's son).
Try it on paper. Say a pointing sentence about one of your own relatives ("She is my mother's brother's wife"), then do the four moves on it.
Find the rule
Introducing a woman, Amit, a man, said: "She is the wife of my mother's only son." How is the woman related to Amit?
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Correct answer: A
Amit is a man and a son of his mother. She has only one son, so that son is Amit. "The wife of my mother's only son" is Amit's own wife.
Option B: A brother's wife (भाभी) needs a second son. "Only" rules that out.
Option C: The woman is the daughter-in-law of Amit's mother, not of Amit. This answers for the wrong person.
Option D: Amit's gender is given ("a man"), so the only son is fixed: Amit.
Hint: Amit is a man. Who is his mother's only son?
Pointing to a boy, Sita, a woman, said: "He is the son of my brother." How is Sita related to the boy?
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Correct answer: A
The question asks Sita's relation to the boy. From the boy: his father is Sita's brother, so Sita is his father's sister: paternal aunt (बुआ).
Option B: "Brother's son" (भतीजा) is the boy's relation to Sita. The question asks the other direction.
Option C: A maternal aunt (मौसी) is the mother's sister. The boy reaches Sita through his father.
Option D: This drops the boy's father. Sita is one floor above the boy.
Hint: Read the question's direction first: whose relation is asked, and to whom?
Pointing to a girl, Kiran said: "She is the daughter of my mother's only son." No word gives Kiran's gender. How is the girl related to Kiran?
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Correct answer: D
If Kiran is a man, the only son is Kiran and the girl is Kiran's daughter. If Kiran is a woman, the only son is her brother and the girl is her niece (भतीजी). The sentence allows both.
Option A: This holds only if Kiran is a man, and no word says so.
Option B: This holds only if Kiran is a woman, and no word says so.
Option C: The girl is the granddaughter of Kiran's mother, not of Kiran. This answers for the wrong person.
Hint: Try both: Kiran a man, then Kiran a woman.
Name the rule
Roles, chain, solve, direction.
- Roles: "I/my" is the speaker; "he/she" is the person pointed at; "you" is the listener.
- Chain: rewrite the quote with names, one link per relation word.
- Solve: work out the inner part first, especially "only" clues: a man is his father's only son; a woman's father's only son is her brother.
- Direction: answer exactly the pair the question asks: "How is the man related to Neha?" is not "How is Neha related to the man?".
"My", "his" and "her" change meaning with every speaker; names never do. Once the quote reads "the daughter of Ravi's father", it is an ordinary chain from lessons 1 and 2.
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Pointing to an old man, Meena said: "He is the father of my father's only sister." How is the old man related to Meena?
Solution
- Mark the roles
"My" is Meena; "he" is the old man.
- Rewrite with names
The old man is the father of Meena's father's sister.
- Solve the inner part
A brother and sister share their father, so the sister's father is also the father of Meena's father.
- Answer the asked direction
The father of Meena's father: her paternal grandfather.
Answer: The old man is Meena's paternal grandfather (दादा).
Watch out: Meena's own gender is not needed. The side comes from "my father's", not from Meena.
Now finish one that is half done.
Introducing a boy, Rekha, a woman, said: "His father is the only son of my father." Rekha is a woman, so she is not her father's son: the only son is Rekha's brother. The boy's father is that brother. So the boy is Rekha's ...
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The boy is the son of Rekha's brother: a brother's son, भतीजा.
Option B: This takes "the only son" to be Rekha herself, but a woman is not her father's son.
Option C: भांजा is a sister's son. The boy's father is Rekha's brother.
Option D: The boy is the grandson of Rekha's father, not of Rekha. This answers for the wrong person.
Hint: The middle person is Rekha's brother. Which Hindi word goes with a brother's son?
And one on your own.
Pointing to a woman, Gopal said: "Her father is my father's brother." How is the woman related to Gopal?
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Correct answer: A
Her father is the brother of Gopal's father, so her father is Gopal's paternal uncle. She is that uncle's daughter: Gopal's cousin, चचेरी बहन.
Option B: She is on Gopal's floor but has different parents: her father is Gopal's uncle, not Gopal's father.
Option C: The link runs through Gopal's father, so the cousin is on the father's side.
Option D: A brother's daughter would be one floor below Gopal. Her father is a brother of Gopal's father, not of Gopal.
Hint: Rewrite it: her father = Gopal's father's brother. What is that man to Gopal?
The traps
- Mixed roles: "my" is the speaker and "his" or "her" is the person pointed at. Swap them and every link moves.
- Wrong direction: "How is the man related to Neha?" and "How is Neha related to the man?" have different answers.
- "Only" misread: a man is his father's only son; for a woman, her father's only son is her brother.
- A side from a name: English "grandfather" or "uncle" hides the side; look for father's, mother's, दादा, नाना, चाचा, मामा.
- The speaker's gender from a name: only "a man", "a woman" or a relation word gives it.
Pointing to a girl, Raj, a man, said: "She is the daughter of my father's only son." Asha answered: "She is Raj's niece (brother's daughter)." What went wrong?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Raj is a man and his father has only one son, so that son is Raj. The girl is Raj's daughter, not his niece.
Option A: The reverse would describe Raj for the girl ("father"). Asha described the girl, as asked.
Option C: No side is involved: the chain stays with Raj's father and his son.
Option D: A brother's daughter needs a second son. "Only" rules that out.
Hint: Who is the only son of Raj's father?
Mixed check
P is Q's brother. R is Q's daughter. Which statement is certain?
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Correct answer: A
P is the brother of R's parent Q, so P is certainly R's uncle. Whether he is चाचा or मामा depends on Q's gender, which is not given.
Option B: "Maternal" says Q is R's mother, and no word gives Q's gender.
Option C: Q could be R's father; no word gives Q's gender.
Option D: "Sister's daughter" says Q is a woman; that is not given.
Hint: Lesson 3: which person's gender is missing here?
Gita is the daughter of Hari's mother's sister. Hari is a boy. How is Hari related to Gita?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Turn the chain around and start at Gita: her mother's sister is Hari's mother, and Hari is her son. Hari is Gita's mother's sister's son: मौसेरा भाई. This cousin word works both ways: Gita is Hari's मौसेरी बहन.
Option B: ममेरा भाई is a mother's brother's son. The two mothers here are sisters.
Option C: Hari and Gita have different mothers, so they are cousins, not siblings.
Option D: This stops one link early: Hari's mother is Gita's maternal aunt (मौसी); Hari is her son.
Hint: Lesson 2: start at Gita and walk to Hari.
Quick reference
Pointing and introducing
- Roles
- I, me, my: the speaker he, his, she, her: the person pointed at; you, your: the listener
- Gender
- "pointing to a man/woman/boy/girl" gives that person's the speaker's only from "a man", "a woman" or a relation word
- Routine
- roles, chain, solve, direction rewrite the quote with names before solving
- Only son, only daughter
- a man is his father's only son a woman's father's only son is her brother
- Direction
- answer exactly the asked pair "the man to Neha" is not "Neha to the man"
Why it works: a quote is an ordinary chain told from the speaker's chair. Put names in place of my, his and her, and the lessons on chains do the rest.
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