"with-less provide"

I am sorry I made a mistake.

Which sounds more natural, "He provided me with a sample." or "He provided me a sample."? Thank you very much in advance.

Any difference?

Sorry, I meant to say the following: Which sounds more natural, "He provided me with a sample." or "He provided me a sample." ? Thank you very much in advance.

Include the 'with'.

You would say 'he gave me a sample' though.

In written English, your inclination is to choose to use formal words and expressions, right? So if I was to use "provide" not "give" in a business letter or something, whould it be better for me to put "Mr. Smith provided me with a sample." or "Mr. Smith provided me a sample."?

With 'provide me' you need to use 'with.

Mr. Smith provided me with a sample.

If you want to drop the with, you also need to drop the me.

Mr. Smith provided a sample.
This might be more suitable if it is a business letter, perhaps he provided your company with a sample rather than you personally. You could also say 'Mr. Smith provided us with a sample.'

Thank you very much again for your kind answer. Come to think of it, it is true that in most cases, I can drop "me" in writing a business letter because the relationship between the person that I am sending my letter to and me is normally company to company rather than person to person. I think I will use "subject + provide + thing" form more often.