if I die, my kids are orphans

[GoodTaste]

Is the phrase "if I die, my kids are orphans" grammatical? Should it be "if I die, my kids will be orphans"?


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Poppy War tweeted replying to a tweet saying young healthy people should be vaccinated in replying Joe Biden's receiving second dose of COVID-19 vaccine:

I agree! The elderly have lived their lives. I'm a 37-year-old raising a family. Being that I am a widow, if I die, my kids are orphans. Its bull***t that they are giving the vaccine to those over 80 right now. They will probably die of something else in the next couple years.

 

[GoesStation]

Your version is correct and natural, but so is the tweet. I'll go out on a limb and guess that it's a mixed conditional.

If X, Y is a short way to say "If X is true then Y is also true."

I won't comment on the opinion expressed in the tweet.

 

[teechar]

Is the [STRIKE]phrase[/STRIKE] sentence "if I die, my kids are orphans" grammatical?

Yes, it is. That is called the zero conditional. It indicates a general inevitability (full certainty). Think of "are" as "become".

Should it be "if I die, my kids will be orphans"?

This is also grammatical and possible. It is the first conditional structure. It is looking at a particular situation and what will happen in the future to those kids if the parent dies.