Sy glimlag, maar sy is ook skaam oor die groot prys.

Here sy means she.

It appears twice because Afrikaans usually repeats the subject in each full clause:

• Sy glimlag = She smiles / She is smiling
• maar sy is ook skaam ... = but she is also shy / embarrassed ...

Just like in English, you normally would not say She smiles, but is also shy in a basic learner sentence; repeating she is the normal pattern.

Afrikaans sy can mean either she or his, depending on how it is used.

In this sentence, sy comes before a verb:

• Sy glimlag
• sy is ook skaam

That tells you it is a subject pronoun: she.

If it meant his, it would normally come before a noun:

• sy boek = his book
• sy prys = his prize

So the grammar tells you which meaning is intended.

Glimlag is a verb here, meaning smile.

So:

• Sy glimlag = She smiles / She is smiling

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form the way English verbs do. So glimlag stays the same with different subjects:

• Ek glimlag = I smile
• Sy glimlag = She smiles
• Hulle glimlag = They smile

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English can use either:

• she smiles
• she is smiling

So Sy glimlag can naturally cover both, depending on context.

Afrikaans does have ways to be more explicitly progressive, but in everyday sentences the simple form is very common.

Maar means but.

It links two contrasting ideas:

• Sy glimlag = She smiles
• maar sy is ook skaam ... = but she is also shy / embarrassed ...

So maar works very much like English but.

Because maar is a coordinating conjunction, the normal word order stays the same after it.

So you get:

• maar sy is ook skaam

with the usual pattern:

• subject = sy
• verb = is

This is similar to English:

• but she is also shy

Ook means also or too.

In this sentence:

• sy is ook skaam = she is also shy

Its position is very natural in Afrikaans. It often comes near the part it adds to. Here it adds the idea that, besides smiling, she is also shy / embarrassed.

Skaam can mean things like:

• shy
• embarrassed
• ashamed

The exact nuance depends on the context.

In skaam oor die groot prys, it often feels closer to embarrassed about or self-conscious about the big prize, though shy may also be the intended learner-friendly meaning if that is how the sentence was glossed.

Oor means about or over.

With skaam, it can show what someone feels embarrassed or ashamed about:

• skaam oor iets = ashamed / embarrassed about something

So:

• skaam oor die groot prys = embarrassed / ashamed about the big prize

This is a useful combination to learn as a chunk: skaam oor.

Yes, often there is a difference.

A helpful basic distinction is:

• skaam oor iets = ashamed / embarrassed about something
• skaam vir iemand/iets = shy of / ashamed before / embarrassed in front of someone or something, depending on context

Examples:

• Ek is skaam oor my fout. = I am embarrassed about my mistake.
• Hy is skaam vir vreemdelinge. = He is shy around strangers.

So in your sentence, oor is used because the feeling is connected to the big prize as the topic or cause.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die prys = the prize / the price
• die groot prys = the big prize / the high price

It works for both singular and plural nouns in Afrikaans, unlike English:

• die boek = the book
• die boeke = the books

In Afrikaans, adjectives placed before nouns often take an -e ending, but not always.

Groot is one of the common adjectives that often stays groot in this kind of phrase:

• die groot prys

So you should learn it as a standard pattern.

A lot of learners expect an extra ending because of Dutch or German, but Afrikaans is often simpler in form.

Here prys is the noun being described by groot.

Depending on context, prys can mean:

• prize
• price

Since the meaning has already been given to you, you follow that context here. But it is good to know that the Afrikaans word itself can be ambiguous without extra context.

A very close, word-for-word style breakdown is:

• Sy = she
• glimlag = smiles / is smiling
• maar = but
• sy = she
• is = is
• ook = also
• skaam = shy / embarrassed / ashamed
• oor = about
• die = the
• groot = big
• prys = prize / price

So the structure is quite close to English overall, which makes it a friendly sentence for beginners.