What does "apiece" modify?

[TheParser]

Dear teachers and fellow members:

In your opinion, what does "apiece" modify in:

"The doughnuts cost one dollar apiece."

These are the answers I have gotten from teachers:

(1) It modifies "cost."

(2) It modifies "one."

(3) It modifies "one dollar."

(4) It modifies "doughnuts."

THANK YOU

[BobK]

4. Each.

b

[eddy143]

Dear teachers and fellow members:

In your opinion, what does "apiece" modify in:

"The doughnuts cost one dollar apiece."

These are the answers I have gotten from teachers:

(1) It modifies "cost."

(2) It modifies "one."

(3) It modifies "one dollar."

(4) It modifies "doughnuts."

THANK YOU

it deeply modifies "doughnuts" which is the main subject of the sentence.

[luschen]

I would agree with the above posters, but it is a little tricky.

What if the sentence said:

The doughnuts cost one dollar per piece.


In this case, does "per piece" still modify doughnuts?

[freezeframe]

it deeply modifies "doughnuts" which is the main subject of the sentence.

Agree on doughnuts.


How deeply, though?

[TheParser]

Thank you for all the replies. You have certainly given me food for thought. One very nice person at the Oxford English Dictionary headquarters was kind enough to answer me. She explained that since "apiece" is an adverb, it must modify "cost." Other people,
as I pointed out in my first post, do not think that the matter is that simple (simplistic?).

[birdeen's call]

Thank you for all the replies. You have certainly given me food for thought. One very nice person at the Oxford English Dictionary headquarters was kind enough to answer me. She explained that since "apiece" is an adverb, it must modify "cost." Other people,
as I pointed out in my first post, do not think that the matter is that simple (simplistic?).

I agree with the lady. I agree that that's very tricky too. I think that BobK's "each" is also an adverb in

The doughnuts cost one dollar each.