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I have read this sentence and can not get "does is" meaning. Which type of grammar is it?

Couchsurfing is a fairly new website, and what it does is it allows travelers from different parts of the world to meet people in the destinations they're going to. People offer a couch in their home or perhaps space on their floor, and in return you're expected in your own hometown to offer the same kind of things to people who might visit you.

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Pratik, quotations should be prefaced with a > symbol at beginning of a line, and not by Code formatting. –  jwpat7 Jun 19 '12 at 2:48
The 'and what it does is' in this sentence is overly wordy and unnecessary. It can be replaced with 'that' with no change in meaning. "... is a fairly new website that allows travelers..." –  Jim Jun 19 '12 at 3:27

1 Answer 1

No mystery: “what it does” is just the subject of the clause whose verb is “is”.

Your question is like asking what “enters wins” means in “The person who first enters wins the privilege of getting a pie in the face.”

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Can you give more example? –  Pratik Jun 19 '12 at 2:29
@Pratik “What it does is it gives you something to ask questions about.” –  tchrist Jun 19 '12 at 2:34

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