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Tell me please if I need to use the in the sentences below.
As (the) years pass, white dwarfs cool down and begin to dim.
As (the) years pass, Kate begins to become more reserved.
Actually the first sentence was used with the by a native english speaker, but I do not undestand why it was used. As for the second one I am not sure whether I need to use the or not. Does the phrase as years pass always have to be used with the, If yes, then why?
The is an article adjective. It implies a specific set of years. You could say
As years pass, white dwarfs cool down and begin to dim.
and be just as grammatically correct. But let's say in context it was phrased like this:
White dwarfs take several million year to implode. As the years pass, they cool down and begin to dim.
In this context, "the years" refers to the several million in the previous sentence. As I mentioned though, both the first and the second sentences you quoted are perfectly grammatically correct, but I find that "the years" is more commonly used.
