tā gēnběn bù xiǎng děng.

In this sentence, 根本 is an adverb meaning not at all, simply not, or absolutely in a negative sense.

So 他根本不想等 is stronger than just 他不想等. It suggests:

• he really does not want to wait
• he has no intention whatsoever of waiting
• waiting is out of the question

A common pattern is:

• 根本 + 不 / 没 + verb

For example:

• 我根本不懂。 — I don’t understand at all.
• 他根本没来。 — He didn’t come at all / He never came.

Because 想等 works as a verb phrase meaning want to wait, and 不 negates the whole idea of wanting.

• 想 = to want to
• 等 = to wait

So:

• 不想等 = do not want to wait

The negation applies to 想, not directly to 等.

Compare:

• 他不想等。 — He doesn’t want to wait.
• 他想不想等？ — Does he want to wait or not?

If you said 不等, that would mean not wait or won’t wait, which is a different focus.

Here 想 means to want to.

This is a very common use of 想 + verb:

• 想吃 — want to eat
• 想去 — want to go
• 想看 — want to see
• 想等 — want to wait

Be careful: 想 can also mean to think or to miss depending on context.

Examples:

• 我想他会来。 — I think he will come.
• 我想家。 — I miss home.

But in 不想等, it clearly means do not want to wait.

Yes. 等 often takes an object, but it does not have to if the context already makes it clear.

For example:

• 等他 — wait for him
• 等一下 — wait a moment
• 别等了 — stop waiting
• 我不想等。 — I don’t want to wait.

In 他根本不想等, the thing or person being waited for is omitted because it is understood from context.

English does this too:

• I don’t want to wait.

You do not always need to say wait for whom / what.

Yes. 根本 adds emphasis.

• 他不想等。 — He doesn’t want to wait.
• 他根本不想等。 — He absolutely doesn’t want to wait / He has no intention of waiting.

So 根本 makes the statement stronger, more definite, and sometimes more emotional.

It can sound like:

• this is obvious
• this is completely true
• there is zero willingness

Normally, no.

You say 不想, not 没想, when you mean doesn’t want to.

Why?

• 不 is usually used for habitual actions, general statements, intentions, willingness, or future actions
• 没 is usually used for past events or things that did not happen

Since 想 here means want to, it describes willingness or intention, so 不 is the normal choice.

Compare:

• 我不想等。 — I don’t want to wait.
• 我没等。 — I didn’t wait.

Note that 没想 can exist in other contexts, but it usually means something like didn’t think or hadn’t planned, not the same as don’t want to in this sentence.

Here it is pronounced bù with the normal fourth tone.

That is because 不 changes to bú only when it comes before another fourth-tone syllable.

Examples:

• 不是 → bú shì because 是 shì is fourth tone
• 不要 → bú yào because 要 yào is fourth tone

But in your sentence:

• 不想 → bù xiǎng

because 想 xiǎng is third tone, not fourth.

So the pronunciation is:

• tā gēnběn bù xiǎng děng

The structure is:

• 他 — subject
• 根本 — adverb
• 不 — negation
• 想 — modal/main verb meaning want to
• 等 — main action verb

So the pattern is roughly:

Subject + adverb + negation + verb + verb

More naturally described:

Subject + degree/emphasis adverb + negative + 想 + action

This is very typical in Mandarin. Adverbs like 根本, 也, 都, 常常, 真, etc. usually come before the verb phrase.

Examples:

• 他也不想去。 — He also doesn’t want to go.
• 我真的不懂。 — I really don’t understand.
• 她根本不相信。 — She simply doesn’t believe it.

Usually 根本 goes before the negative part of the verb phrase, as in:

• 他根本不想等。

That is the most natural placement.

You may also hear similar structures where it appears before the whole predicate, but in practice the common learner-friendly pattern is:

• 主语 + 根本 + 不 / 没 + verb

So it is best to learn and use:

• 我根本不懂。
• 他根本没看。
• 我们根本不认识。

Putting 根本 after 不 would sound wrong here.

In speech, 他, 她, and 它 are all pronounced tā.

So when you hear tā, you cannot tell from pronunciation alone whether it means:

• he
• she
• it

You know from context.

In writing, they are different:

• 他 — he
• 她 — she
• 它 — it

So in this sentence, the written character 他 specifically means he, but the spoken sound tā by itself would not tell you that.

Yes, it can absolutely end with 等.

Mandarin often leaves out information that is already understood from context. If everyone knows what he is supposed to be waiting for, then just 等 is enough.

For example:

• 别等。 — Don’t wait.
• 我可以等。 — I can wait.
• 他不肯等。 — He refuses to wait.
• 他根本不想等。 — He absolutely doesn’t want to wait.

If needed, you could add an object:

• 他根本不想等你。 — He absolutely doesn’t want to wait for you.
• 他根本不想等下去。 — He absolutely doesn’t want to keep waiting.

But the shorter version is completely natural.