Passage

Directions for the following 5 (five) items : Consider the following information and answer the five items that follow : There are five persons in a group — P, Q, R, S and T. The group has one doctor, one lawyer and one artist. P and S are unmarried students. T is a man married to one of the group members. Q is the brother of P and is neither doctor nor artist. R is not doctor.

Who is the spouse of R ?

(a) P
(b) T ✓ UPSC's answer
(c) Q
(d) S

Why the answer is (b)

• P and S are unmarried students, so they cannot be the spouse of R.

• T is a man married to one of the group members, meaning T is the spouse of a female member.

• Q is the brother of P, making Q male; since T is male, Q cannot be T's spouse, and T cannot be Q's spouse.

• The only remaining female member who is not unmarried is R, so T must be married to R.

• Therefore, T is the spouse of R.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) P: P is explicitly stated to be an unmarried student, so P cannot be the spouse of R.
(c) Q: Q is the brother of P, making Q male, and T is a man, so Q cannot be the spouse of R in this context where T is the only married male.
(d) S: S is explicitly stated to be an unmarried student, so S cannot be the spouse of R.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016, held on 7 August 2016. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.