It is read:
ファウルラインのまえでとまる。
Word by word:
In normal Japanese writing, it would usually appear without spaces:
ファウルラインの前で止まる。
前 can mean either:
Here it is the physical meaning: in front of.
So this is a location expression, not a time expression.
Examples:
Same word, different meaning depending on context.
で marks the place where an action or event happens.
In this sentence, the action/event is 止まる = to stop.
So ファウルラインの前で means that the stopping happens at/in front of the foul line.
A helpful breakdown is:
Yes, ファウルラインの前に止まる is also natural Japanese.
The difference is small and often not important for beginners, but a rough guide is:
So:
In many everyday situations, both are acceptable.
This is an important pair:
So:
In your sentence, the thing is stopping by itself grammatically, so Japanese uses 止まる.
If you changed it to 止める, you would need a direct object:
It is the plain dictionary form, also called the non-past form.
This form can mean different things depending on context, such as:
So by itself, 止まる is neutral and unspecific. It does not automatically mean only present tense.
If this were a direct command, Japanese would use something else, for example:
The subject is omitted.
Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context. So the sentence does not explicitly say:
Depending on the situation, it could mean something like:
Japanese does this very often, much more than English.
Because Japanese normally follows SOV word order, where the verb comes at or near the end.
English often uses Subject + Verb + Object/other information, but Japanese usually places the main verb last.
So the structure here is roughly:
This verb-final pattern is one of the most basic features of Japanese sentence structure.
Those spaces are probably added for readability or for learners.
Standard Japanese usually does not use spaces between words, so the normal written form is:
ファウルラインの前で止まる。
You will often see spaces in:
So the spaces are not part of the grammar. They are just a reading aid.