Question

How do you find the roots of words

Answer 1

Quickly identifying prefixes and suffixes is a skill that is acquired through reading and familiarity with the English language and its constructs

Answer 2

The process of identifying word roots has more to do with stripping away additional word elements than directly locating the root. 

For example, if you had the word "hardly" you'd strip away the suffix "ly" and have the root remaining, "hard".

Hope that helps!