When do native speakers favour Vことができる rather than the potential form? I have heard from some native speakers that for some verbs, it is more common to use the phrase V rather than the potential form in everyday speech. This arose after a discussion on verbs of the form * (for example: ...) when I was told that the potential form (...) is rarely used in everyday speech compared to say . Some sources such as < claim that V is more formal, which goes against the above claim that it may favoured in informal speech for certain verbs. If I could hazard a guess, I would say that speakers may favour V when using a verb they are not very familiar with as it is cognitively easier than conjugating the verb to the potential form.

Personally I don't feel I do that when using a verb I'm not familiar. In some situations can be used as a light "euphemism". For example:

>
>

Both mean the same thing, but the former form adds an added degree of remorse. It also signals that the speaker tried hard. I guess it adds a sort of emphasis as it's more elaborate than the shorter form.