Keşke bakım etiketini daha önce kontrol etseydim.

Keşke expresses a wish, regret, or if only... feeling.

In this sentence, it shows that the speaker is sorry about something in the past. So keşke + the verb form here gives the sense of:

• I wish...
• If only...

So the emotional tone is regret, not just a neutral past statement.

Turkish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

Here, -m at the end of etseydim shows I. So ben is not necessary.

• etseydim = if I had done / I wish I had done

You could add ben for emphasis, but it is not needed:

• Keşke ben bakım etiketini daha önce kontrol etseydim.

That sounds more emphatic, like I wish I had checked it earlier.

Etseydim is built from:

• et- = do
• -se/-sa = conditional (if)
• -ydi/-ydı = past
• -m = I

So:

• etseydim = if I had done

In this sentence, it combines with keşke to mean:

• I wish I had done
• If only I had done

So kontrol etseydim literally works like if I had checked, but in natural English the whole sentence is usually translated as I wish I had checked the care label earlier.

Because kontrol etmek is a very common Turkish verb made from:

• kontrol = check / control
• etmek = to do

Many Turkish verbs work this way, especially words borrowed from other languages:

• yardım etmek = to help
• telefon etmek = to phone
• kontrol etmek = to check

When the verb is conjugated, usually etmek is the part that changes:

• kontrol etmek = to check
• kontrol ettim = I checked
• kontrol etseydim = if I had checked / I wish I had checked

That -ni is the accusative ending, used because the sentence is talking about a specific object: the care label.

So:

• bakım etiketi = care label
• bakım etiketini = the care label (as a definite direct object)

Turkish often marks definite direct objects this way.

Compare:

• Bir etiket kontrol ettim. = I checked a label.
• Etiketi kontrol ettim. = I checked the label.

Here, the speaker means a specific label, so -ni appears.

This is a very common Turkish noun-compound pattern.

In Turkish, when one noun describes another noun, the second noun often takes a special ending, usually -(s)i. So:

• bakım = care / maintenance
• etiket = label
• bakım etiketi = care label

This pattern is used in many common expressions:

• otobüs durağı = bus stop
• diş fırçası = toothbrush
• yemek masası = dining table

So bakım etiketi is the normal way to say care label.

Then when it becomes a definite direct object, it changes to:

• bakım etiketini

Daha önce means earlier, before, or previously.

• önce = before
• daha önce = earlier / before that / previously

In this sentence, it means the speaker wishes they had checked the label at an earlier time than they actually did.

So it adds the idea of too late or not soon enough.

No, that would not sound right.

Keşke normally goes with forms that express a wish, unreality, or regret, not with a plain past tense like kontrol ettim.

So for past regret, Turkish commonly uses forms like:

• Keşke ... kontrol etseydim.
• Keşke ... kontrol etmiş olsaydım.

But not:

• Keşke ... kontrol ettim. ❌

A plain past tense means I checked, while keşke needs a form closer to I wish I had checked.

Both can express past regret, and both can often be translated as I wish I had checked.

But there is a nuance:

• kontrol etseydim = more common, shorter, very natural
• kontrol etmiş olsaydım = a bit more explicit about the completed past action; slightly more formal or reflective

So:

• Keşke bakım etiketini daha önce kontrol etseydim.
• Keşke bakım etiketini daha önce kontrol etmiş olsaydım.

Both are correct. The first one is usually the more everyday choice.

Not completely. Turkish word order is flexible, but the most neutral order usually puts the verb at the end.

So this sentence is natural as:

• Keşke bakım etiketini daha önce kontrol etseydim.

You might also hear variations, but they change the emphasis:

• Keşke daha önce bakım etiketini kontrol etseydim.
• Keşke bakım etiketini kontrol etseydim daha önce.

These are possible, but the original version sounds very natural and balanced.

The main thing that usually stays the same is that the verb comes at the end.