Learn Hardcore Japanese: kotira ha sensyuu yori atui kedo, tabun asita no kaigi ha seikousuru hazu da. - It’s hotter here than last week, but the meeting tomorrow should probably be successful.

Politeness/register: こちら is the polite/formal counterpart of ここ (neutral) and こっち (casual).
You could say: ここは先週より暑い (neutral) or こっちは先週より暑い (casual).

Why is は used after こちら? Is it a subject marker?

は is the topic marker, not a subject marker. こちらは sets “as for here” as the topic. The sentence later also has 明日の会議は, giving the second clause its own topic. Having multiple は topics across clauses is normal.

How does より work in 先週より暑い? What’s the comparison pattern?

より marks the standard of comparison: “more … than …”

Pattern: A は B より C = “A is C-er than B.”
Here: （こちらは）先週より暑い = “(Here is) hotter than last week.” The subject/topic こちら can be omitted when clear.
Alternative full pattern: 先週より今週のほうが暑い。

Should I say 先週よりも instead? What does も add?

よりも is fine; も adds slight emphasis/contrast. 先週より暑い and 先週よりも暑い are both natural; the latter can feel a bit stronger or more contrastive.

Why is 暑い used and not 熱い?

暑い: hot weather/air temperature (ambient).
熱い: hot objects or sensations (e.g., hot coffee, hot plate, passionate feeling).
Here we’re talking about the weather, so 暑い is correct.

What does けど do here? How is it different from が, けれども, or でも?

けど links the “it’s hotter than last week” clause to the next, adding a mild contrast or transition.

が: more formal/literary, weaker emotion.
けれども: more formal/polite than けど.
でも: starts a new sentence (“However, …”).
You could write: …暑いが、 / …暑いけれども、 / …暑い。でも、…

Is it natural to pivot from weather talk to the meeting with けど?

Yes. In conversation, けど often softens a shift from small talk (weather) to the main topic (the meeting). It reads like “It’s hotter than last week, but anyway, about tomorrow’s meeting…”

Where can たぶん go in the sentence?

Common placements:

At the start: たぶん、明日の会議は成功するはずだ。 (hedges the whole statement)
After the topic: 明日の会議は、たぶん成功するはずだ。 (specifically hedges the predicate about the meeting)
Before the verb phrase: たぶん成功するはずだ。
All are natural; position slightly changes focus but not the basic meaning.

Is たぶん with はず natural, or does it clash?

It’s used in speech and not wrong, but there’s a mild tension:

はずだ = strong expectation based on reasons/knowledge.
たぶん = “probably,” adding doubt.
If you want a softer probability, many prefer たぶん…でしょう/と思います. If you want confident deduction, drop たぶん and keep …はずだ. A middle ground is おそらく…はずだ (more formal/neutral than たぶん).

Why is 明日 followed by の in 明日の会議?

の links a modifier to a noun. 明日の会議 means “tomorrow’s meeting.” It’s the default way to say this. You could also read 明日 as あす in more formal contexts: あすの会議.

Why does the second clause use は in 明日の会議は成功する rather than が?

Both are possible, with nuance differences:

明日の会議は成功する… sets “tomorrow’s meeting” as the topic, often contrastive (“as for tomorrow’s meeting…”).
明日の会議が成功する… highlights it as the grammatical subject/new information.
Here は suits the contrastive/topic feel after the first clause.

Why use 成功する instead of 成功だ?

成功する is the verb “to succeed,” good for predicting an event’s outcome: 会議は成功するはずだ (“the meeting should succeed”).
成功だ is “is a success,” typically used after the fact or labeling the state: 会議は成功だ (“the meeting is a success”).
Natural alternatives include うまくいく: 明日の会議はうまくいくはずだ。

What exactly does はず mean? How is it different from でしょう or に違いない?

はずだ: strong expectation based on known reasons/evidence (“should, ought to”). Implies a basis.
でしょう／だろう: conjecture/probability or softening; combines well with たぶん.
に違いない: “must/there’s no doubt,” very confident inference; can sound firm/stiff.
Examples:
時間通りに出たから、間に合うはずだ。
たぶん間に合うでしょう。
間に合うに違いない。

Why does the sentence end with だ? Could I use です?

だ is the plain-form copula that pairs with はず. For polite speech, use です:

Plain/mixed: …暑いけど、明日の会議は成功するはずだ。
Polite: …暑いですが、明日の会議は成功するはずです。
Both are fine; choose based on formality and who you’re talking to.

Can any parts be omitted in casual speech?

Yes, to a degree:

Topic can be dropped if obvious: 先週より暑いけど、たぶん明日の会議は成功するはず。 (often drops final だ in casual talk)
You can also say just 先週より暑いけど、たぶん成功するはず。 if “tomorrow’s meeting” is already clear from context.
In writing or formal contexts, keep だ/です and explicit topics.