How does the JavaScript instanceOf method execute in this statement?
<pre><code>var a = "words";
a instanceOf String;    
#=&gt; false
</code></pre>

<p>I can't understand how this code snippet works.</p>

<ul>
<li>Is <code>instanceof</code> a method of <code>a</code>, or of <code>this</code> which locates it in the default scope?</li>
<li>If <code>String</code> here is a parameter passed to <code>instanceof</code>, how come it doesn't have parentheses?</li>
</ul>
