Við héldum áfram eftir stutta truflun og kláruðum öll atriðin sem við þurftum að ræða.

Héldum áfram means continued / carried on.

It comes from the verb halda áfram, which is a very common Icelandic expression for to continue. Even though halda by itself often means hold or keep, the phrase halda áfram functions as a set expression, so you should learn it as a unit.

So:

• við héldum áfram = we continued
• literally, something like we held on/forward, but in real usage it simply means we continued

Because they are all 1st person plural past tense forms: we ...ed.

In this sentence:

• héldum = we continued
• kláruðum = we finished
• þurftum = we needed

The subject is við = we, so the verbs are inflected to match that.

This is an important feature of Icelandic: verbs change form depending on person and number, much more than in modern English.

Because eftir here takes the accusative case, and both the adjective and the noun have to match that.

So:

• truflun = interruption
  
  • feminine singular
• after eftir, it becomes accusative singular
• the adjective stuttur = short must agree with truflun

That gives:

• stutta truflun = a short interruption

So the phrase means:

• eftir stutta truflun = after a short interruption

It can mean both, depending on context.

Truflun is a noun meaning something like:

• interruption
• disturbance
• disruption

In this sentence, interruption is the most natural translation, because the context is clearly about resuming something after a break in discussion or activity.

Yes, kláruðum is perfectly normal and very common.

It comes from klára, which means:

• to finish
• to complete

So:

• við kláruðum = we finished / we completed

It is common in everyday Icelandic and often feels a bit more conversational than some alternatives. Depending on context, a more formal or literary verb might sometimes be used, but klára is extremely natural in ordinary speech and writing.

Öll atriðin means all the items / all the points / all the matters.

Breakdown:

• öll = all
• atriðin = the items / the points

The noun atriði is neuter, and here it is plural and definite:

• atriði = items / points
• atriðin = the items / the points

So öll atriðin is all the items or all the points.

In this sentence, points or items is probably the best sense, especially if the context is a meeting, agenda, or discussion.

Öll atriðin is the normal way to say all the items / all the points here.

The difference is mainly about definiteness:

• öll atriði = all items / all points in a more general or indefinite sense
• öll atriðin = all the items / all the points, referring to a specific set already known in context

Since the sentence is talking about the specific points they needed to discuss, the definite form atriðin makes sense.

You may also see word orders like atriðin öll, but that has a different feel and is not the most neutral wording here.

Sem is the relative word that / which / who.

Here it introduces a relative clause describing atriðin:

• öll atriðin sem við þurftum að ræða
• all the items that we needed to discuss

A useful thing to know is that Icelandic sem does not change form for gender, number, or case the way English who/whom/which sometimes does. It is very flexible and widely used in relative clauses.

Because þurfa is followed by að + infinitive.

So:

• þurfa að ræða = need to discuss
• þurftum að ræða = we needed to discuss

Only þurftum is the finite past-tense verb.
Ræða stays in the infinitive because it is dependent on þurfa.

This works much like English:

• we needed to discuss
• not we needed discussed

Because Icelandic normally needs an explicit subject in each clause.

So even though the main clause already has við:

• Við héldum áfram ... og kláruðum ...

the relative clause also needs its own subject:

• sem við þurftum að ræða

English does the same here:

• the items that we needed to discuss

You cannot normally just leave við out.

Not always. Atriði is a very useful word with several related meanings, such as:

• item
• point
• matter
• detail
• sometimes even scene or act, depending on context

In this sentence, points or items is the best fit, especially if the speakers are going through things one by one in a conversation, meeting, or agenda.

It has two coordinated main actions, followed by a relative clause:

• Við héldum áfram eftir stutta truflun = We continued after a short interruption

• og kláruðum öll atriðin = and finished all the items/points

• sem við þurftum að ræða = that we needed to discuss

So the full structure is:

We continued after a short interruption and finished all the points that we needed to discuss.

This is a very natural Icelandic sentence with:

• a subject: við
• two past-tense verbs: héldum, kláruðum
• a prepositional phrase: eftir stutta truflun
• a noun phrase with a relative clause: öll atriðin sem við þurftum að ræða