Pointing to a man, Suraj says, "He is the son of the sister of my father's wife." How is that man related to Suraj?

Introduction / Context:
This is a typical verbal reasoning question where you must interpret a nested description: the son of the sister of my father's wife. You have to identify the relation of the man being pointed at to Suraj. It tests whether you can correctly distinguish between parents, aunts and cousins on the maternal side of the family.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Suraj's father's wife is Suraj's mother.
• The sister of Suraj's mother is Suraj's maternal aunt.
• The man being pointed at is the son of this maternal aunt.
• We assume a standard family structure where maternal aunt means mother's sister.

Concept / Approach:
Once we realise that my father's wife is simply my mother, the expression the sister of my father's wife is the sister of my mother, i.e., my maternal aunt. The man is then the son of Suraj's maternal aunt. The child of an aunt or uncle is a cousin. Therefore, the man is Suraj's cousin.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Replace my father's wife with my mother. So the phrase becomes the sister of my mother.Step 2: The sister of my mother is Suraj's maternal aunt.Step 3: The man is the son of this maternal aunt.Step 4: The son of one's maternal aunt is one's cousin.Step 5: Therefore, the man is Suraj's cousin.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine a small family: Suraj's grandparents have two daughters, one is Suraj's mother and the other is Suraj's maternal aunt. The aunt has a son, the man in question. Suraj is the child of the mother. The two youngsters share the same grandparents but have different parents who are sisters. This is exactly the cousin relationship. No arrangement that keeps the given description intact makes the man Suraj's father, brother, nephew or uncle.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Father would require the man to be married to Suraj's mother and be a generation above Suraj, which contradicts the description.Brother would imply sharing the same parents, whereas here the man is the child of the mother's sister.Nephew would mean Suraj is older and an uncle to the man, the reverse of the situation.Uncle would place the man in a generation above Suraj, which the description does not support.

Common Pitfalls:
Some students misread my father's wife and think it could be someone other than the mother, especially in more complex scenarios. In standard reasoning questions, however, my father's wife is simply treated as the mother unless otherwise stated. Another mistake is to stop at maternal aunt and not carry through to the aunt's son, thereby mislabeling the relationship as aunt instead of cousin.

Final Answer:
The man pointed to by Suraj is his Cousin.