Dutch lacks the progressive/continuous tense distinction that English speakers rely on (I am eating vs I eat). In Dutch, both meanings can be expressed by the simple present: Ik eet (I eat OR I am eating — context determines which). However, Dutch has explicit constructions for emphasising ongoing action. The most common: zijn + aan het + infinitive. Ik ben aan het eten (I am eating — explicitly progressive). Ze is aan het lezen (She is reading right now).
For habits and states, the simple present or imperfect is used without any special marking: Ik eet elke dag om één uur (I eat every day at one o’clock — habitual). Hij woonde vroeger in Amsterdam (He used to live in Amsterdam — past habitual, using simple past). Dutch does not have a grammaticalised be + -ing habitual like English used to — context and time adverbs carry this meaning.
Completed actions with results: the perfect tense (hebben/zijn + past participle) is used when the result of the action is relevant to the present: Ik heb gegeten (I have eaten — and so I am full now). Ze is vertrokken (She has left — and so she is gone now). This contrasts with the simple past (preterite) which is used for narrating events in sequence without present relevance: Gisteren at ik om één uur (Yesterday I ate at one o’clock — narrative fact). This distinction explains much of the hebben/zijn keuze in tense selection.