The family which has more than one couple, and often more than two generations living together is known as :
(1) Nuclear family
(2) Extended family
(3) Joint family
(4) Multiple family
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Extended family
Note 1: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, Option (3) can also be considered correct, as explained below.
Option (1) Nuclear family — Incorrect. A nuclear family consists of only one set of parents and their children, so it has only one couple.
Option (2) Extended family — Correct as per NTA. An extended family, commonly known as the ‘joint family’, can take different forms, but has more than one couple, and often more than two generations, living together, such as a set of brothers with their families, or an elderly couple with their sons, grandsons and their families.
Option (3) Joint family — Can also be considered correct. The joint family is the common name of the extended family, so the description in the question fits it equally: more than one couple, and often more than two generations, living together.
Option (4) Multiple family — Incorrect. Discussions on the family in India have often revolved around the nuclear and the extended (joint) family, and the description in the question is the definition of the extended family. ‘Multiple family’ is not the name of this family.
Note 2: The term in Option (4), ‘Multiple family’, is not in NCERT (2025-26).
NCERT (2025-26): “Nuclear and Extended Family … A nuclear family consists of only one set of parents and their children. An extended family (commonly known as the ‘joint family’) can take different forms, but has more than one couple, and often more than two generations, living together. This could be a set of brothers with their individual families, or an elderly couple with their sons and grandsons and their respective families.…” |