Let A be a symmetrisable generalised Cartan matrix, and let $\mathfrak {g}(A)$ be the corresponding Kac–Moody algebra. In this paper, we address the following fundamental question on the structure of $\mathfrak {g}(A)$ : given two homogeneous elements $x,y\in \mathfrak {g}(A)$ , when is their bracket $[x,y]$ a nonzero element? As an application of our results, we give a description of the solvable and nilpotent graded subalgebras of $\mathfrak {g}(A)$ .