Love is so complex that it is really difficult to explain it. It is such a strange, wonderful experience that nobody really has codified what it is yet. Thus it is one of the most difficult questions to answer. One of the most common questions you ask yourself is "How do you know if it is really love?" How do you find out that the emotions that you have for a person is love and not just anything else. Love has many forms so it is quite possible that you may be confused while deciding whether you love a person or not. Well though this is a difficult and tricky job but I will try to answer the question as to how you know it is love.
Well to begin with I would suggest that you gather yourself together and ask yourself a few questions.

Well if these questions have an affirmative answer then congrats you are crazily in love with your partner. Thus if you love a person you want to always be with that person. You would want to share your joy as well as pain with that person and live your whole life with him. You not only make him a part of your life but also want to be a part of his life forever. You can almost feel what he feels and see what he sees and think what he thinks. You life revolves around him and life without him is impossible. This is love.

However you have to really feel love and it is only you who can recognize your love. Being overly dependent on the other person is not love. Some people fall into the trap of thinking they love someone just because they are afraid to be alone. They have become dependent on the other person so much that they don't know how to make it on their own and cant imagine a life without the company of that person. This is definitely not love.

Thus to recognize love you have to be confident in your own ability and your own judgment and most important is you have to love yourself first. You have to know what you can offer to that person and whether you are willing to live with him forever. Just trust yourself and your heart.