The Cambridge Latin Course is set firmly in the cultural context of the Roman world in the first century AD. In Book I, the story begins in the city of Pompeii, shortly before the eruption of Vesuvius. Book I forms a coherent course in its own right and is often studied as a complete introduction to the Latin language and Roman civilisation. The age of students taking this course ranges from 8 to 85!
The main language features of Book I include:
Nominative, accusative and dative cases, singular and plural, of nouns of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd declensions
Present, imperfect and perfect tenses, all persons, of verbs of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th conjugations
Word order
Personal pronouns
Intransitive verbs
Comparatives and superlatives
Questions
The main civilisation topics include
Roman families
Houses
Daily life
The town of Pompeii
The forum
The theater
Slaves and freedmen
Life and death
Gladiators
The baths
Schools
Local government and elections
The eruption of Vesuvius; destruction and excavation of Pompeii