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Could you work on this for free?

In an answer to the above question, which preposition is correct to use with the word compensation?

— No, I would like to work with compensation.

— No, I would like to work under compensation.

— No, I would like to work on compensation.

Or, should we just say:

No, I would like to be paid for my work.

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    Your last sentence, "I would like to be paid for my work", is best.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Apr 27, 2016 at 12:23
  • @StoneyB So there is no collocation we can use for an answer that includes the word compensation?
    – technophyle
    Apr 27, 2016 at 16:00
  • How about "No, I would like to be compensated for my work." or "No, I would like compensation for my work."
    – Leo
    Jun 27, 2016 at 1:36
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    I actually think "for compensation" is more correct than any of your versions. See my answer.
    – BradC
    Aug 25, 2016 at 14:10

2 Answers 2

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None of them seem completely natural ("compensation" seems a bit formal), but in that specific context, I'd actually suggest "for compensation", because it mirrors the question:

Could you work on this for free?

No, but I can work on that for compensation.

or even better,

No, but I can work on that for pay.

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You may also say, "I don't work for charity. How much are you going to pay me?" As for the three examples, I've found no such collocations; to say the least, they all sound odd to me.

The preposition which works with "compensation" is "for", as in "I want some compensation for the time I lost at this meeting".

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    IMO, some might consider "I don't work for charity. How much are you going to pay me?" a little too rude. You may come off a little bit too aggressive to the listener.
    – Varun Nair
    Apr 27, 2016 at 12:08
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    Yet, every work should be payed for, unless it's charity, shouldn't it? If someone wants you to do some work and thinks that agreement on the payment is optional, why not clear that out beforehand?
    – Victor B.
    Apr 27, 2016 at 12:32
  • Yes, I agree. But we need not resort to harsh replies. If they find it offensive, they wouldn't even give us the work at all. Creating a good impression is always nice.
    – Varun Nair
    Apr 27, 2016 at 13:09

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