Passage

Directions for the following 3 (three) items : Read the passage given below and answer the items that follow. A, B, C, D, E, F are members of a family. They are engineer, stenographer, doctor, draughtsman, lawyer and judge (not in order). A, the engineer is married to the lady stenographer. The judge is married to the lawyer. F, the draughtsman is the son of B and brother of E. C, the lawyer is the daughter-in-law of D. E is the unmarried doctor. D is the grandmother of F. There are two married couples in the family.

Which of the following is/are a couple/couples ?

(a) AD only
(b) BC only
(c) Both AD and BC ✓ UPSC's answer
(d) Both AC and BD

Why the answer is (c)

• The two married couples are A (engineer) with the lady stenographer, and the judge with the lawyer C.

• B is F's parent, so B is married; B is not A, so B must be in the judge–lawyer couple — B is the judge, married to C. This fits C being D's daughter-in-law, with D as B's mother and F's grandmother.

• Professions then run A engineer, B judge, C lawyer, E doctor, F draughtsman, which leaves D as the lady stenographer, married to A.

• The couples are therefore AD and BC — option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) AD only: BC is also a couple.
(b) BC only: AD is also a couple.
(d) Both AC and BD: A is married to D and B to C, not A to C and B to D.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2014, held on 24 August 2014. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.