Only son and only daughter

Learning outcome

You can read a sentence that uses only son or only daughter, and stop when the chain reaches the person in the photograph.

Concepts and reasons

Only daughter of my mother means there is one daughter. If the speaker is a woman, that only daughter is the speaker herself. If the speaker is a man, that only daughter is his sister. Only son of my mother means there is one son. If the speaker is a man, that only son is the speaker himself. If the speaker is a woman, that only son is her brother. Read from the end of the phrase back to the start. The last of is the person you already know. Each earlier of adds one generation or one child.

Worked examples

1. A woman points to a boy and says: His mother is the only daughter of my mother. The only daughter of her mother is the woman herself. His mother is therefore the woman. The boy is her son.
2. A man points to a photograph and says: He is the son of the only son of my mother. The only son of his mother is the man himself. The son of that only son is his son. The photograph is of his son.
3. A woman says: He is the son of the only son of my mother. The only son of her mother is her brother, not herself, because she is a daughter. The son of that brother is her nephew. In Hindi, a sister speaking of her brother's son says bhatija.

Common traps

Do not treat the speaker as the only son when the speaker is a woman. Only son then means her brother. Do not stop one step early. Son of the only son is one generation below the only son. His mother is the only daughter does not make the boy a brother. It makes the speaker his mother.

Practice questions

1. A woman says of a girl: Her mother is the only daughter of my mother. Who is the girl to the woman?
2. A man says of a boy: He is the son of the only son of my mother. Who is the boy to the man?
3. A woman says of a boy: He is the son of the only son of my mother. Who is the boy to the woman?

Answers and explanations

1. Her daughter. The only daughter of the woman's mother is the woman. The girl's mother is the woman, so the girl is her daughter.
2. His son. The only son is the man. The boy is that son's son, which is the man's son.
3. Her nephew, a bhatija. The only son is her brother. The boy is her brother's son.

Analogy

The phrase is a staircase you climb from the last of. Each of is one step. Only son or only daughter tells you there is a single step, so you do not have to choose among siblings.

Quick reference

• A woman saying only daughter of my mother means herself.
• A man saying only son of my mother means himself.
• A woman saying only son of my mother means her brother.
• Son of that person is one generation down. Then name the relation to the speaker.