Blood Relations
🔒 Log in to trackPointing and introducing
🔒 Log in to track'Pointing to a man, Rita said, "He is the only son of my mother's mother's only child."' — the pointing format hides the tree inside spoken phrases, and the speaker is always part of the tree. Decode each phrase from the inside out, in layers:
- Resolve the innermost possessive first ('my mother's mother' = maternal grandmother).
- Apply 'only child' / 'only son' / 'only daughter' carefully — 'only son' does not mean no other children, it means no other sons.
- Remember the speaker is a person in the tree. 'My mother's only child' = the speaker — the fastest self-reference in the topic.
- Finally answer: the man/woman in the photo is [relation] of the speaker.
The classic trap: 'my father's only son' when the speaker is male = the speaker himself. CGL exploits this constantly; a son of that person can then be the speaker's own son or brother depending on the remaining phrase.
Detailed notes
What these questions look like
"Pointing to a man, Rita said, 'He is the only son of my mother's mother's only child.' How is the man related to Rita?" — the whole tree is hidden inside one spoken phrase. The speaker is always part of the family, and the photo person is described through a chain of "my ___'s ___" links. Decode the chain, place the two people, and read the relation.
Peel the phrase inside-out
Work from the innermost "my ___" outward, one layer per line of rough work:
- Replace "my" with the speaker's name. "My mother's mother" → Rita's mother's mother = Rita's maternal grandmother.
- Apply each next "'s ___" to what you have. "...'s only child" → that grandmother's single child = Rita's mother.
- Continue: "the only son of (Rita's mother)" → Rita's brother.
- Answer: the man is Rita's brother. Writing one line per layer takes twenty seconds and prevents the classic error of collapsing two links into one.
The self-reference alarm
Some phrases fold back onto the speaker:
- "My mother's only child" = the speaker (no one else exists).
- "My father's only son" = the speaker, if the speaker is male; if the speaker is female, it is her brother.
- "My mother's only daughter" = the speaker, if female; her sister, if male. Whenever one of these appears, test it first. The question is then really about the speaker's own son, daughter, brother or sister. For example, "He is the son of my father's only son", said by a man, means "He is my son".
Gender and "cannot be determined"
- A phrase fixes a gender only through a gendered word. "My mother's husband" is male; "my father's child" may be anyone.
- If the final relation depends on a gender or a sibling count the phrase never fixes, the answer is "Cannot be determined" — a real option in this format, not a trap. Example: "the man is the son of one of my grandfather's sons" — he could be the speaker's brother (son of the speaker's father) or a cousin (son of an uncle). Both readings fit, so no single relation is certain.
- Watch for the reverse direction: "How is the speaker related to the person shown?" needs the opposite word of what the phrase gives.
The standard word bank
Photograph questions reuse the same blocks: grandfather's only son = father; mother's only child = the speaker; father's sister = aunt; aunt's daughter = cousin; brother's niece = the speaker's own daughter (when the speaker is the only sister); father's only brother = uncle. Learn these decodings once — the exam just re-orders them.
Quick revision
- Decode inside-out: replace "my" first, one "'s ___" per line.
- Test the self-reference ("my mother's only child" = speaker) before anything else.
- Only son bars boys only; only daughter bars girls only.
- If a needed gender/sibling fact is missing, the answer is "Cannot be determined".
- Read the question's direction: person-to-speaker, or speaker-to-person.
- Memorise the blocks: grandfather's only son = father; aunt's daughter = cousin; brother's niece = your daughter.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Long pointing phrase decoded inside-outvery common3 practice Q
'Pointing to X, Y said, "He/She is the ___ of my ___'s ___"' — a chain of two or more possessives.
- Replace 'my' with the speaker's name.
- Resolve the innermost 'my ___' first, then apply one possessive link at a time, one line per layer.
- Read the final relation of the photo person to the speaker.
Why it works: each layer is one small tree link; layers solved in order cannot tangle.
Example: Pointing to a woman, Mohan said, 'She is the wife of my father's only brother.' How is she related to Mohan?
Father's only brother = Mohan's uncle. Wife of uncle = aunt.
Type 2: Self-reference trap (phrase resolves to the speaker)common3 practice Q
Phrases like 'my mother's only child', 'my father's only son', or 'my mother's only daughter'.
- Test the self-reference first: 'my mother's only child' = the speaker.
- For 'only son/daughter', check the speaker's gender — it is the speaker if the gender fits, else a sibling.
- Re-read the sentence with the collapse done; the question is about the speaker's own child, sibling or spouse.
Why it works: the setter hides the simplest tree (speaker + one more person) inside a long phrase.
Example: Pointing to a boy, Suresh said, 'He is the son of my father's only son.' How is the boy related to Suresh?
Suresh is male, so his father's only son = Suresh himself. The boy is Suresh's son.
Type 3: Cannot-be-determined photo questionscommon2 practice Q
The phrase mentions a set that is not pinned down — 'one of my uncle's sons', 'daughter of my grandfather's only child' — and 'Cannot be determined' sits in the options.
- Decode the phrase and list every person who could match.
- Check whether the speaker's own gender or a sibling count removes any of them.
- If two different relations remain possible, answer 'Cannot be determined'.
Why it works: the format genuinely allows under-specified phrases; choosing a single relation when two fit is the planted error.
Example: Pointing to a man, Meena said, 'His wife is the daughter of my grandfather's only child.' How is the man related to Meena?
Grandfather's only child = Meena's mother. Her daughters: Meena or a sister. The man is Meena's husband or her brother-in-law → cannot be determined.
Type 4: Reversed pointing (speaker's relation to the person shown)common2 practice Q
'How is the speaker related to the person in the photograph?' — the reverse of the usual question.
- Decode the phrase exactly as usual.
- Note which direction the question wants: speaker-to-photo, not photo-to-speaker.
- Give the mirror word (brother ↔ sister, father ↔ son, aunt ↔ niece).
Why it works: the phrase fixes one relation; the question just asks it from the other end.
Example: Pointing to a man, Priya said, 'He is the son of my grandfather's only son.' How is Priya related to the man?
Grandfather's only son = Priya's father, so the man is her brother. Asked in reverse: Priya is his sister.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Peel the phrase inside-out
Underline the innermost 'my ___' and resolve outward, one layer per line. Then place speaker and target in a two-person sketch.
Example: Q. 'Pointing to a man, Sunita said, "He is the only son of my mother's mother's only child."'
Sol. My mother's mother's only child = Sunita's mother. Her only son = Sunita's brother. The man is Sunita's brother.
One layer per line; the speaker enters the tree at layer one.
⚡ The self-reference alarm
Whenever a phrase like 'my father's only son' or 'my mother's only daughter' appears, test whether it resolves to the speaker. If the speaker's gender fits, it does — and the question is really about the speaker's own child, sibling or spouse.
Example: Q. 'Pointing to Ketan, Meera said, "His mother is the only child of my mother."'
Sol. Only child of Meera's mother = Meera. So Ketan's mother = Meera → Ketan is Meera's son.
Self-reference collapses two layers at once — instant shortcut when spotted.
Where students lose marks
Taking 'only son' to mean 'only child'.
Forgetting the speaker is in the tree (missing the self-reference).
Answering the photo-person's relation in the reverse direction ('the man's sister' instead of 'her brother').
Practice sets — 15 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 8 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.