Word PSA

I've covered proper use of the apostrophe before in greater detail elsewhere, but this is just a short-form WORD PSA. Which, in the format I'm establishing over time, consists of comparing two similar words with different meanings for the purpose of assisting readers in getting it right when they write. So:

It's is a contraction -- a way of reducing the two words "it is" to one word, e.g. "It's a nice day."

Its is possessive, indicating that "it" owns something, e.g. "I walked up to the dog and took its bone away from it."

Selah.