Það má fresta símafundinum, en það þarf samt að staðfesta nýjan tíma áður en dagurinn endar.

In both clauses, það is a dummy subject or formal subject. It does not really mean it in a concrete sense here.

• Það má fresta símafundinum = literally something like It may postpone the phone meeting, but the real meaning is It is possible / allowed to postpone the phone meeting.
• Það þarf samt að staðfesta nýjan tíma = It is still necessary to confirm a new time.

English does something similar with sentences like:

• It is important to leave early.
• It is necessary to decide soon.

So in this Icelandic sentence, það is there because Icelandic clauses usually need a subject, even when the statement is impersonal.

Má is the present tense of the verb mega.

Here it means something like:

• may
• can
• is allowed to
• it is possible to

So Það má fresta símafundinum means that postponing the phone meeting is permitted or possible.

A useful thing to notice is that mega is a modal verb, so it is followed directly by an infinitive:

• má fresta = may postpone

There is no að after má.

This is a very common learner question.

In Icelandic, some verbs are followed by an infinitive without að, while others take að + infinitive.

Here:

• mega → usually takes the infinitive without að
  • má fresta
• þurfa → normally takes að + infinitive
  • þarf að staðfesta

So the difference is caused by the verb before the infinitive.

Compare:

• Ég má fara. = I may go.
• Ég þarf að fara. = I need to go.

This is something you mostly have to learn verb by verb.

Because fresta takes the dative case.

The pattern is:

• að fresta e-u = to postpone something

So:

• símafundur = phone meeting / conference call
• dative singular definite = símafundinum

That is why the sentence says:

• fresta símafundinum

and not nominative or accusative.

This is an important point in Icelandic: many verbs require a specific case, and it is not always the same as in English.

Símafundinum is the dative singular definite form of símafundur.

Breakdown:

• símafundur = phone meeting / conference call
• -inum = a common ending for dative singular definite masculine

So:

• símafundur = a phone meeting
• símafundinum = the phone meeting (in dative case)

It is also a compound word:

• síma- = telephone / phone
• fundur = meeting

Samt means still, nevertheless, or all the same, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• en það þarf samt að staðfesta nýjan tíma

it means something like:

• but it still has to be confirmed
• but a new time must nevertheless be confirmed

So even though the meeting can be postponed, there is still an obligation to confirm a new time.

Because staðfesta takes a direct object, and here that object is in the accusative case.

The pattern is:

• að staðfesta e-ð = to confirm something

So:

• nýr tími = a new time (nominative)
• nýjan tíma = a new time (accusative masculine singular)

Both words change because the adjective must agree with the noun:

• nýjan matches
• tíma matches

So að staðfesta nýjan tíma means to confirm a new time.

The dictionary forms are:

• nýr = new
• tími = time

In the sentence they appear as:

• nýjan tíma

because they are masculine singular accusative.

This is adjective agreement in action. In Icelandic, adjectives change form to match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case
• definiteness

Here:

• tími is masculine
• singular
• accusative
• indefinite

So the adjective becomes nýjan.

Áður en means before in the sense of before something happens.

So:

• áður en dagurinn endar = before the day ends

It introduces a subordinate clause.

Structure:

• main clause: það þarf samt að staðfesta nýjan tíma
• subordinate clause: áður en dagurinn endar

This is very common in Icelandic:

• áður en ég fer = before I go
• áður en fundurinn byrjar = before the meeting starts

Because in the subordinate clause, dagurinn is the subject and endar is the verb.

• dagurinn = the day
• endar = ends

So the clause is simply:

• dagurinn endar = the day ends

In Icelandic subordinate clauses, the verb does not have to stay in second position the way it usually does in main clauses. That is why a structure like áður en dagurinn endar is perfectly normal.

Dagurinn is the nominative singular definite form of dagur.

Breakdown:

• dagur = day
• dagurinn = the day

It is nominative because it is the subject of endar.

That is because the sentence is impersonal and uses the dummy subject það.

Since það is grammatically singular, the verbs appear in 3rd person singular:

• það má
• það þarf

Even though English might express this more abstractly, Icelandic still treats it as a normal singular clause grammatically.

Yes. En is the normal coordinating conjunction meaning but.

It connects the two main clauses:

• Það má fresta símafundinum
• en það þarf samt að staðfesta nýjan tíma áður en dagurinn endar

So the overall structure is:

• statement 1: postponing is possible
• en = but
• statement 2: confirming a new time is still necessary

Yes — actually quite a lot. This one sentence shows several very useful patterns:

1. Impersonal expressions with það

   • Það má...
   • Það þarf...

2. Modal verb without að

   • má fresta

3. Verb + að + infinitive

   • þarf að staðfesta

4. Verbs that govern different cases

   • fresta
     • dative
   • staðfesta
     • accusative

5. Subordinate clause with áður en

   • áður en dagurinn endar

So it is a very good example sentence for noticing how Icelandic grammar works beyond just vocabulary.