Við aflýstum göngunni, en símafundurinn fór samt vel og tók ekki langan tíma.

Aflýstum is the 1st person plural past tense form of the verb að aflýsa (to cancel).

The verb conjugates like this in the past:

• ég aflýsti — I canceled
• við aflýstum — we canceled

So Við aflýstum means we canceled.

A form like aflýsaði would not be the correct past tense of this verb.

Because the verb að aflýsa takes the dative case for the thing being canceled.

So:

• ganga — a walk / hike
• göngunni — the hike in the dative singular

This is something Icelandic learners often just have to memorize with the verb:

• aflýsa einhverju — to cancel something

So:

• Við aflýstum göngunni = We canceled the hike

The base form is ganga.

Here are some useful forms:

• ganga — a walk / hike
• gönguna — the hike (accusative)
• göngunni — the hike (dative)
• gangan — the hike (nominative)

The vowel change from a to ö is part of the noun’s inflection.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, göngunni most naturally means something like:

• the hike
• the walk
• the walking trip

If the overall context is outdoors, a planned excursion, or exercise, hike is often the most natural English translation.

Símafundurinn is the definite nominative singular form of símafundur (phone meeting, conference call, telephone meeting).

It is in the nominative because it is the subject of the second clause:

• símafundurinn fór samt vel
• the phone meeting still went well

The ending -inn is the attached definite article, so:

• símafundur — a phone meeting
• símafundurinn — the phone meeting

Here samt means still, all the same, or nevertheless.

It shows contrast with the first clause:

• We canceled the hike, but the phone meeting still went well

So even though one plan was canceled, the other thing turned out fine.

This is normal Icelandic main-clause word order.

In a main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position. Here the order is:

• símafundurinn — subject
• fór — finite verb
• samt — adverb
• vel — adverb

So:

• Símafundurinn fór samt vel

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic.

Yes, very much so.

Að fara vel means to go well or to turn out well.

So:

• Fundurinn fór vel — The meeting went well
• Prófið fór vel — The exam went well

This is a very common expression and works a lot like English.

This comes from the expression að taka tíma — to take time.

Here:

• tók = past tense of að taka (to take)
• ekki = not
• langan tíma = a long time

So the whole phrase means:

• did not take a long time

This is also quite parallel to English.

Because taka takes a direct object, and the direct object here is in the accusative.

So:

• langur tími — long time (nominative)
• langan tíma — long time (accusative)

Both the adjective and noun change form:

• langur → langan
• tími → tíma

That is why the sentence has:

• tók ekki langan tíma

Yes. En means but and introduces a contrast:

• Við aflýstum göngunni, en símafundurinn fór samt vel...
• We canceled the hike, but the phone meeting still went well...

It connects two main clauses, just like English but.

Because Icelandic often uses a comma before a coordinating conjunction like en when it links two full clauses.

Each side has its own verb:

• Við aflýstum göngunni
• símafundurinn fór samt vel og tók ekki langan tíma

So the comma helps mark that clause boundary.

Because the subject is understood to be the same: símafundurinn.

So Icelandic, like English, can avoid repeating it:

• símafundurinn fór samt vel og tók ekki langan tíma
• the phone meeting went well and didn’t take long

You could think of it as:

• símafundurinn fór samt vel og símafundurinn tók ekki langan tíma

But repeating the subject would sound unnecessary.

It is in the past tense.

The past-tense verbs are:

• aflýstum — canceled
• fór — went
• tók — took

So the sentence describes a completed situation in the past.

Yes, depending on context.

Símafundur can mean:

• phone meeting
• telephone meeting
• conference call

If several people are involved by phone, conference call may sound especially natural in English. If the context is more general, phone meeting is also fine.

Yes. This is a very important part of learning Icelandic.

For this sentence, two good examples are:

• að aflýsa + dative
  • aflýsa göngunni
• að taka + accusative
  • taka langan tíma

A very helpful habit is to learn verbs together with the case pattern they require, not just the dictionary meaning.