Reasoning Preparation Tips

Meaning of some terms often used in questions on family relationship are given below:

a) Parent – Mother or father

b) Child – Son or daughter (even if an adult)

c) Sibling – Brother or sister (Including half brother and half sister - one parent in common)

d) Spouse – Husband or wife

Basic Relationships:-

Aunt, Uncle, Niece and Nephew

• Most English speakers use “uncle” for any of four relationships: father’s brother, mother’s brother, father’s sister’s husband, or mother’s sister’s husband.
• Again, “aunt” in English could mean father’s sister, mother’s sister, father’s brother’s wife, or mother’s brother’s wife.
• Brother’s or sister’s son is called nephew. Brother’s or sister’s daughter is called niece.
• Children of aunt or uncle are called cousins.

Relationships Involving the Term ‘-in-law’

General

•  Any relationship term ending with -in-law indicates that the relationship is by marriage and not by blood. In other words, -in-law will be a blood relative of the spouse.
• In-law relationship terms are always written with hyphens. And the plural is formed on the part before the “-in-law”;For example, “brothers-in-law” and not “brother-in-laws”. The only exception is the general term “in-laws”, which is always plural.
• Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Son-in-law and Daughter-in-law
  •  Father-in-law is the father of spouse; mother-in-law is the mother of spouse. If parents get divorced and remarry, their new spouses are called stepparents, not mother-in-law and father-in-law.
  • The husband of daughter is son-in-law; the wife of son is daughter-in-law. If spouse has children from a previous marriage, those are called stepchildren, not sons-in-law or daughters-in-law. The person is their stepfather or stepmother, not their father-in-law or mother-in-law.
  Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law
  •  Brother-in-law” and “Sister-in-law” each have two or three meanings as follows:
  a) Sister-in-law could be
  i) The sister of spouse, or
  ii) The wife of brother, or
  iii) The wife of spouse’s brother.
  b) Similarly, Brother-in-law could be
  i) The brother of spouse, or
  ii) The husband of sister, or
  iii)  The husband of spouse’s sister.
  Relationships Involving the Terms ‘Grand’ and ‘Great’
  •  The relationships of the second generation are prefixed with the word Grand.
  • Similarly, for a person, the first generation above him would be that of his/her parents (Father/ Mother). The next/second generation above him/her would be the parents of the parents who would be called Grand Parents/ Grand Father/ Grand Mother of that person. The next/ third generation parents would be called Great Grand Parents/ Great Grand Father/ Great Grand Mother of that person.
  • This also applies to the collateral relationships.