A man says, “The son of my wife's brother is my ____.
- (a)Brother-in-law
- (b)Nephew
- (c)Cousin
- (d)Son-in-law
Answer
Why
Correct — B.
Rule: a brother-in-law's son is a nephew.
My wife's brother = my brother-in-law.
His son = my wife's nephew, and so my nephew by marriage.
The blank takes Nephew → option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Brother-in-law — Brother-in-law is the wife's brother himself. The question asks about his son, one generation below.
- (c)Cousin — Cousin is the child of your uncle or aunt, someone in your own generation. This boy is a generation below you.
- (d)Son-in-law — Son-in-law is your daughter's husband. The boy here comes through your wife's brother, not through your daughter.
Concept
Solve a relation chain one link at a time, from the speaker outward.
The man's wife's brother is his brother-in-law, in his own generation. That brother-in-law's son sits one generation below, as the son of a sibling-in-law. The child of a brother, sister or sibling-in-law is a nephew (a niece if a girl).
Strictly the boy is the wife's nephew, which makes him the man's nephew by marriage. The options offer no finer term, and the key takes Nephew.
Key facts
- Wife's brother = brother-in-law.
- A sibling's or sibling-in-law's son is a nephew, and a daughter is a niece.
- An uncle's or aunt's child is a cousin.
- A daughter's husband is a son-in-law.
Study next
Common traps
- Stopping at the first link and answering Brother-in-law
- Choosing Cousin because the boy comes from the wife's side of the family
14 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.20 tells the same chain as a story: Ravi's wife Rekha, her brother Ramesh, and Raj, the son of Ramesh's wife Rina, keyed Nephew.
17 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.24 goes through the wife's sister instead, the son of my wife's sister's husband, also keyed Nephew.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.