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Questions & Answers about Алло! Это мама?
Why is the greeting Алло used here instead of Привет?
Алло is a special greeting used only when talking on the telephone. If you were greeting your mum in person, you would use Привет instead.
How does Это мама? become a question without changing the word order?
In Russian, you don't need to rearrange words or add extra words to make a yes-or-no question. You just raise the pitch of your voice on the key word (here, мама). In writing, the question mark is the only difference from the statement Это мама (This is mum).
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
Russian skips the verb 'to be' (am, is, are) in the present tense. The word Это covers 'this' or 'that', and because there is no word for 'is', Это мама perfectly translates to 'Is that mum?'.
Do I need a more formal version of Алло if I don't know who is calling?
No, Алло is completely neutral and can be used for both formal and informal phone calls. You don't need to change it even if you are answering an unknown number.