The German tense of Imperfekt is used when describing situations that occured in the and which have no influence on the present. It is also used when talking about states and feelings in the past. Additionally, the Imperfekt is used to describe a habit or an event that occurred regularly in the past.
Example for Imperfekt: Ich kaufte Blumen für meine Oma und schenkte sie ihr zum Geburtstag. (I bought flowers for my grandmother and gave them to her on her birthday.)
The tense of Perfekt is used to describe past events that still have a link to the present. You can use the Perfekt to talk about a series of separate events leading up to the present.
Example for Perfekt: Ich habe in der Schule Deutsch gelernt. (I learned German at school.)