Breakdown of Fundurinn fjallaði um nýja skólann.
nýr
new
skólinn
the school
fundurinn
the meeting
fjalla um
to deal with, to discuss (of a text or talk)
Questions & Answers about Fundurinn fjallaði um nýja skólann.
Why is the word for "new" nýja here instead of nýjan?
Because the noun it describes, skólann (the school), is definite (it has the "the" ending attached). Whenever an adjective comes before a definite noun, it must use its "weak" form. For a masculine accusative noun, that weak ending is -a, making it nýja. If the sentence were about an indefinite "new school", you would use the strong form: um nýjan skóla.
Why does skóli (school) change to skólann in this sentence?
The preposition um (about) forces the noun that follows into the accusative case. The masculine noun skóli changes to skóla in the accusative. Because we are talking about the specific school, we add the masculine accusative definite article -nn to the end, resulting in skólann.
Could I just translate "was about" word-for-word as var um?
While English speakers are often tempted to use var um (was about), the verb phrase fjalla um is the natural Icelandic way to say a meeting, book, movie, or conversation is "about" a specific topic. It translates more closely to "discussed" or "dealt with".
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