Contractions are commonly found in English speech, and is the term for words where apostrophes are used to denote absent letters, e.g. "it's", "don't", and "you're".
However, in written English, and therefore Radiopaedia we generally prefer the non-contracted form, e.g. "cannot" instead of "can't", "we would" instead of "we'd", etc.
NB: "its" is not a contraction but the possessive form of the word "it".
English contractions
This is an alphabetical list of contractions in spoken English, followed by the non-contracted form which is what we would prefer to appear in Radiopaedia articles and cases. Occasional forms can denote two different forms and it is "usually" possible to work out from the context which one was meant.
The only exception to removing contractions is when a contraction appears in quoted speech (rare) or the title of a referenced article.
aren't: are not
can't: cannot
could've: could have
couldn't: could not
didn't: did not
doesn't: does not
don't: do not
hadn't: had not
hasn't: has not
haven't: have not
he'd: he had or he would
he'll: he will
he's: he has or he is
how's: how has or how is
I'd: I had or I would
I'll: I will
I'm: I am
I've: I have
isn't: is not
it'd: it had or it would
it'll: it will
it's: it has or it is
let's: let us
must've: must have
oughtn't: ought not
shan't: shall not
she'd: she had or she would
she'll: she will
should've: should have
shouldn't: should not
something's: something has or something is
that'll: that will
that's: that has or that is
there'd: there had or there would
there're: there are
there's: there has or there is
they'd: they had or they would
they'll: they will
they're: they are
they've: they have
wasn't: was not
we'd: we had or we would
we'll: we will
we're: we are
we've: we have
weren't: were not
what'll: what will
what's: what has or what is
when's: when has or when is
where'd: where did
where'll: where will
where's: where has or where is
who'd: who had or who would
who're: who are
who's: who has or who is
who've: who have
why'd: why did
won't: will not
would've: would have
wouldn't: would not
you'd: you had or you would
you'll: you will
you're: you are
you've: you have
This list is non-exhaustive, please feel free to add any omissions.