Fyrri fundurinn var stuttur.

In Icelandic, the definite article the is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of written as a separate word.

• fundur = meeting
• fundurinn = the meeting

So -inn here is the masculine singular nominative form of the attached definite article.

Fyrri is an adjective meaning earlier, former, or previous, and adjectives normally come before the noun they describe in Icelandic when used this way.

So:

• fyrri fundurinn = the earlier meeting

Putting fyrri after the noun would usually sound different in tone or style and is not the basic neutral order learners should start with.

Fyrri means earlier, former, or previous. It refers to one of two things, or to something earlier in time or order.

So in this sentence, it means that there was some meeting being talked about, and this was the earlier one.

A useful contrast:

• fyrri = earlier / former
• fyrsta = first

These are not always interchangeable. Fyrri often implies a comparison with a later one.

Var is the past tense singular form of the verb vera (to be).

• er = is
• var = was

So:

• fundurinn er stuttur = the meeting is short
• fundurinn var stuttur = the meeting was short

Because adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Fundur (meeting) is a masculine singular noun, and here it is in the nominative because it is the subject of the sentence. So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative:

• stuttur = masculine singular nominative
• stutt would be neuter singular nominative/accusative

Even though a meeting is not biologically male, Icelandic uses grammatical gender, not natural gender.

Fyrri belongs to a different adjective pattern from stuttur.

Many Icelandic adjectives have a full set of endings, like:

• stuttur (masculine)
• stutt (neuter)
• etc.

But fyrri is a comparative-type form and behaves differently. In this sentence, fyrri is the correct form with fundurinn.

So even though both words are adjectives, they do not necessarily show agreement in exactly the same visible way.

Here stuttur is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached inside the noun phrase.

Compare:

• stutti fundurinn = the short meeting

  • adjective directly describes the noun inside the noun phrase

• fundurinn var stuttur = the meeting was short

  • adjective comes after var and describes the subject through the verb to be

That is the same basic difference as in English between the short meeting and the meeting was short.

It is nominative singular.

You can tell this because fundurinn is the subject of the sentence:

• Fyrri fundurinn = the subject
• var stuttur = says something about that subject

In simple statements with to be, the subject is normally in the nominative.

More or less, yes. A word-for-word breakdown is:

• Fyrri = earlier / former
• fundurinn = the meeting
• var = was
• stuttur = short

A natural English translation would be:

• The earlier meeting was short.
• Depending on context, also possibly The previous meeting was short.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Fyrri ≈ FIR-ri
• fundurinn ≈ FUN-du-rin
• var ≈ var
• stuttur ≈ STUHT-tur

A few useful notes:

• y in Icelandic is pronounced like i, not like English y
• double consonants are usually pronounced more strongly/longer
• the u in fundurinn and stuttur is not exactly like English oo or uh; it has its own Icelandic sound

If you want, I can also give a more detailed sound-by-sound pronunciation breakdown.