Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O zumbido delas é desesperante.

O zumbido delas é desesperante.

Their buzzing is exasperating.

Breakdown of O zumbido delas é desesperante.

ser

to be

dele

his (forms: dela, deles, delas)

Questions & Answers about O zumbido delas é desesperante.

Why use delas here instead of a possessive like o seu?

In European Portuguese, seu and sua are generally reserved for the formal "your" (referring to você). To mean "his", "hers", or "theirs", it is much more natural and clear to use dele, dela, deles, or delas placed after the noun. Here, delas also specifies that the subject is feminine plural (like as moscas, flies).

Why is it é (from ser) and not está (from estar) if the buzzing is happening right now?

We use ser because the sentence describes an inherent characteristic of the sound. The buzzing itself is fundamentally exasperating by nature. If you wanted to say someone is exasperated by the noise (a temporary state), you would use estar, as in ela está desesperada.

English uses the "-ing" word "exasperating". Why doesn't Portuguese use the gerund desesperando?

English often uses gerunds or present participles as adjectives, but Portuguese rarely does. Instead, it relies on specific adjectives, frequently ending in -ante, -ente, or -inte, to express that something causes a certain effect. That is why "exasperating" translates to desesperante, just as "interesting" becomes interessante.