I don't have to pay for the service

[Silverobama]

Hi,

I wrote a sentence about how the teachers here help me with my English. They never charge me for a cent and when I offer them gifts, they always ignore the requests. I used this sentence last night when someone asked how I learned English in a chat group, and I said I learned from native speakers and teachers online. I added:

I don't have to pay for them for the service*; they just help me without asking things back.

*: This means I don't need to pay for them even though teachers here have helped me a lot.

Is the italic sentence natural?

 

[tedmc]

This is how I would write it:

I don't have to pay for them for their service*; they just help me without asking things back expecting anything in return.

 

[Tarheel]

Try;

They are generous with their help. They are kind and courteous. They are very patient. They give good advice and never ask for one red cent.

There isn't any way for me to get paid, but sometimes it feels like I should.

The expression "never ask for one red cent" is a bit old-fashioned and just means "never ask for anything".

 

[Tarheel]

The first sentence is perfect, but then you stumble a bit. Perhaps:

They never charge me anything, and when I offer them gifts they don't respond. (You certainly can ignore requests, but that's something different.)

And:

I said this in a chat room last night when someone asked me how I learned English..

Good night!

 

[Tarheel]

Try:

I don't have to pay them anything. They help me without asking for anything.