Question

Pointing to a man, a woman said, "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is the woman related to the man?

• A. Sister
• B. Mother
• C. Aunt
• D. Grandmother

Hint:

Begin with the phrase the only daughter of my mother. Since the speaker is a woman, replace that entire phrase with the correct person before reading his mother.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept: Family relation problems often involve interpreting statements carefully to identify relationships between individuals.

Step 1: Analyze the statement. The woman says: \[ \text{"His mother is the only daughter of my mother."} \]

Step 2: Interpret the phrase. The phrase "only daughter of my mother" means the woman herself, since she is the only daughter of her mother.

Step 3: Substitute the meaning. Thus, the statement becomes: \[ \text{"His mother is me."} \] Therefore, the woman is the mother of the man. \[ \boxed{\text{Mother}} \]

Answer 2

Concept:

• Resolve a blood-relation statement from the innermost phrase outward.
• The word only fixes the identity of the daughter and removes any ambiguity.

Step 1: Start with my mother.
The speaker is a woman. Her phrase my mother refers to the mother of the woman who is speaking.

Step 2: Resolve the only-daughter phrase.
The only daughter of the speakers mother is the speaker herself. Therefore, the phrase his mother refers to this woman.

Step 3: Connect the woman to the man.
If the woman herself is his mother, then the man she points to is her son.

Final Answer: The woman is the mans mother, option B.