It’s a cruel, cruel world! It is! or is it?

And the world in its wisdom and its idiosyncrasies doesn’t always let you know what it’s thinking.

Whether to use the apostrophe or whether to leave it alone? That is the question. If you are confused about apostrophes, try this simple test:

When you use the apostrophe, you are turning one word (it’s) into two: it is.
Without the apostrophe, one word (its) remains one word: a possessive pronoun (for those who love labels).