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Jeśli to jest pilne, niech oni to zrobią najpierw.

Jeśli to jest pilne, niech oni to zrobią najpierw.
If this is urgent, let them do it first.
From Lesson 151:Third-person imperatives (niech)·Polish

Questions & Answers about Jeśli to jest pilne, niech oni to zrobią najpierw.

How does niech work in this sentence to mean 'let them'?
Niech is used to give commands or make suggestions for the third person (he, she, it, they). You simply combine niech with the subject (oni) and the third-person verb form (zrobią). It translates well to 'let them' or 'have them' do something.
The lesson says to use the present tense with niech, but isn't zrobią technically future tense?
Good eye! Zrobić (to do/make) is a perfective verb, meaning it focuses on completing an action. Perfective verbs do not have a real present tense; their 'present' conjugations are actually used for the future. So zrobią means 'they will do', and with niech, it means 'let them do it (and finish it)'.
Why does pilne end in -e instead of -y?
The word pilne (urgent) is an adjective describing the pronoun to (this/it). Since to is neuter, the adjective must take the neuter ending -e. If it were describing a masculine noun, it would be pilny.
Could I use pierwszy instead of najpierw for 'first' here?
No, because they have different grammatical roles. Najpierw is an adverb that talks about the order of actions, meaning 'first of all' or 'before doing anything else'. Pierwszy is an adjective that describes a noun, like 'the first time' (pierwszy raz).

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