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How would I write the following sentence in active voice?

I have never been impressed with the Netflix app.

I am using Hemingway app to write a piece and it complains (highlighting been impressed) a couple of sentences in the above format.

I find it odd to re-write as follows:

Netflix app does not impress me

Thanks for your suggestions

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  • I would ask: why would you rewrite it in the active voice? It is fine as it is. (This is the problem with grammar checking apps: they are stupid and insensitive to style.) The primary topic of the sentence is you (and the impression made on you) rather than the app itself.
    – user323578
    Mar 4, 2019 at 14:02

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The direct equivalent sentence in active voice, using the same tense, would be

The Netflix app has never impressed me.

If this feels odd to you, it could simply be that you personally prefer the sound of the passive voice, or more likely, that you are more used to hearing the passive voice when it comes to particular turns of phrase. People do use the passive voice quite a bit, naturally! If you are actively attempting to alter your writing style to fit the active voice, you will have to accept that certain phrases you are accustomed to by rote are going to sound a little different now.

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  • On the same note, may I pick your brain on "The robots did what they were programmed to do"?
    – Higher-Kinded Type
    Mar 16, 2017 at 4:43
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    Try "People {or some named person} programmed the robots to do {thus and such}." The main feature of the passive voice is to remove blame, so to speak. In this case, your sentence neglects to say "who" programmed the robots to do things. Generally, however, we prefer to think of programming to come from a nebulous incomprehensible source, which is why so many people choose to use the passive voice to talk about it.
    – Richard Winters
    Mar 16, 2017 at 6:43
  • Holy cow! A whole 360 turn for me. Thanks for educating me on the subject. Love the explanation.
    – Higher-Kinded Type
    Mar 16, 2017 at 6:53

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