 Triangular decomposition of a Lie algebra

Choosing a positive system of a root system for a complex semisimple Lie algebra divides its root spaces into negative and positive ones. Their respective sums ${\mathfrak{n}}^{-}$ and ${\mathfrak{n}}^{+}$, together with the Cartan subalgebra $\mathfrak{h}$, give this direct sum of vector spaces. Both ${\mathfrak{n}}^{\pm }$ are nilpotent Lie algebras, and $\mathfrak{h}\oplus {\mathfrak{n}}^{+}$ is a Borel subalgebra. The Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt theorem turns this into an ordered vector-space decomposition of the universal enveloping algebra, useful for building Verma modules.