Simple present,

is used for a repeated action or a general statement.

- Every Sunday we visit our grandparents.

 (Jeden Sonntag besuchen wir unsere Großeltern.)

- Hermione reads a book every day.

 (Hermine liest jeden Tag ein Buch.)

- Astronomy is a hard subject at Hogwarts.

 (Astronomie ist ein schweres Schulfach in Hogwarts.)

Signal words: every day, often, always, sometimes, never

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present progressive,

an action that happens right now.

to be (am, is, are) + Infinitive + ing

- Lord Voldemort is traveling to Albania.

 (Lord Voldemort reist nach Albanien)

- They are taking a walk now even though it is raining.

 (Sie gehen gerade spazieren obwohl es regnet.)

Signal words: at the moment, now, never, tomorrow, tonight, next year

 

Present perfect simple,

took place in the past and impacts the present, it is about what happened and it´s effects.

have/has + Infinitive + ed/past participle

- Harry has never seen a smartphone.

 (Harry hat noch nie ein Smartphone gesehen.)

- I have not practiced it yet.

(Ich habe es bis jetzt noch nicht geprobt.)

Signal words: ever, never, yet, so far, since, for, already, just, this week, today

You can also detect the present perfect simple, if it´s possible to ask "How often?".

 

Present perfect progressive,

started in the past and is still continuing, it is about the process and the duration.

have/has been + Infinitive + ing

- The Quidditch team has been playing for two hours.

 (Das Quidditch Team spielt seit zwei Stunden.)

- Neville has been waiting in the owlery all day long.

 (Neville wartet schon den ganzen in der Eulerei.)

Signal words: ever, never, so far, since, for, today, this month

You can also detect the present perfect progressive, if it´s possible to ask "How long?"

 

Simple past,

happened in the past and has no impact on the present.

Infinitive + ed/past simple

- Harry received his invitation for Hogwarts in 1997.

 (1997 erhielt Harry seine Einladung nach Hogwarts.)

- Two weeks ago Ginny sang in the choir.

 (Vor zwei Wochen sang Ginny im Chor.)

Signal words: yesterday, ago, last week, in..., on...

 

Past progressive,

happened in the past at a certain time.

was/were + Infinitive + ing

- Last Christmas they were walking in the snow.

 (Letztes Weihnachten sind sie im Schnee gewandert.)

- Yesterday at 11am, they were writing a test.

(Gestern um 11Uhr, haben sie einen Test geschrieben.)

also two actions in the past, which are influencing each other.

- The carriage arrived while Ron was standing on the porch.

 (Die Kutsche kam an während Ron auf der Veranda stand.

- I was studying when the goblin walked in.

 (Ich habe gelernt als der Kobold herein lief.

Signal words: when, while, yesterday at x o´clock

 

Past perfect simple,

is used for two consecutive actions.

had + Infinitive + ed/past simple

- Ron had cleaned his dorm room before he went to bed.

 (Ron hatte seinen Schlafsaal sauber gemacht bevor er zu Bett ging.)

- Luna left the Great Hall after she had finished her dinner.

 (Luna verließ die Große Halle nachdem sie ihr Abendessen beendet hatte.

Signal words: before, after

 

Past perfect progressive,

is also used for two consecutive actions but the process and the duration are  important.

had been + Infinitive + ing

- When Harry first met Percy he had been studying at Hogwarts for five years.

 (Als Harry zum ersten Mal Percy traf, hatte dieser schon fünf Jahre in Hogwarts studiert.)

Signal words: for, since, when