A lot of couples lie to each other all the time; the kind of lies couple tell each other ranges from a little white lie that would quickly save their ass to a major lie to save the relationship.

According to Stan Walters, author of The Truth About Lying: How To Spot A Lie and Protect Yourself From Deception; “People lie for three reasons,” he says, “They lie to hide something from you, to harm you in some way or to hype themselves.” In relationships, it could be deduced that people lie to their partners to hide something from them.

There is no sure way to really catch someone that’s lying (except probably a lie detector); but there are certain pointers that are most times right.

1. THEY ARE IN A HURRY TO CHANGE THE CONVERSATION

When your partner is in a hurry to change the conversation, it shows that your partner is uncomfortable with the discussion, and it also points to the fact that your partner is lying to you or trying to hide something from you. This act of trying to change the conversation when a person is lying is sometimes unplanned and is done on impulse.

2. NERVOUSNESS

Except for a professional liar (which you shouldn’t be dating), most partners when lying become nervous because of the fear of being caught out. When a partner is nervous, it shows they aren’t comfortable with the discussion; and in some people, it comes with its own signs like sweaty palms or nose or even inappropriate laughter. In a bid to control their nervousness so it doesn’t become obvious, people tend to take more comfortable positions or supportive positions at that point of lying; it could be leaning on the table at that point or leaning on the wall.

3. REPEATING THE QUESTION

This is also another approach lying partners use; repeating the question gives them the time to frame up a suitable answer to your question, or make them more comfortable with the lie they are about to tell; it doesn’t go past one of these.

4. BECOMING TOO APOLOGETIC OR POLITE

If your partner shows unusual signs of being too polite or being too apologetic then it could be that they aren’t too comfortable with the lie that they are telling.

5. AVOIDING A DIRECT ANSWER

Some questions are so simple and require a simple answer as well, but in order to find a subtle ground to drop the lie, lying partners go around the bush with longer explanations rather than just giving a simple answer.

To catch a lying partner, it’s mostly obvious in their body language or their reaction to a question. However, some people are extremely comfortable with lying that they would break these pointers listed above. But in most cases, these pointers would reveal that your partner is lying to you.