The use of the apostrophe is required with English contractions and possession. In contractions it takes the place of lost letters (like the 'a' in "I am" being lost in "I'm") and just shows possession in possession. With possessive pronouns, however, there is no apostrophe (except with "one's"), so be careful not to confuse "it's" and "its": "it's" means "it is" while "its" is possessive.
Examples:
"I'm going to the store." (contraction)
"Have you seen Sarah's dog?" (possession)
"It's going to rain later." (contraction)
"The cats' food bowl needs to be refilled." (possession)
"You would've liked it." (contraction)
"Don't look at its face." (Contraction first, then possession with "its")
If you need any further clarification on how they work/how to use them feel free to ask!